of the Fishery Board /or Scotland, 
411 
in Danish waters, with a short description of each species and an inter- 
national synonoiuy. It is impossible here to convey the wealth of infor- 
mation contained in Captain Drechsel's monograph. It is only since the 
middle of the present century that the Danish fisheries have attempted to 
do more than supply merely local wants. They have lately rapidly grown 
in importance. 
The very comprehensive Danish Fishery Law of 1888 has been referred 
to in previous Reports. Under this A.Q,i the fishermen have power to 
request that bye-laws should be passed for the regulation of fisheries in 
))ays and iushore waters ; and in the last official report of the department 
a number of such bye-laws are described.'* These bye-laws deal most 
minutely with the conduct of fishing operations, the use or prohibition of 
certain apparatus, the positions for setting nets, and the distance from one 
another, the mesh of nets, close-times, and minimum sizes for various fish, 
&c. In a fourth part of the district waters seine-fishing is prohibited, and 
it is entirely prohibited in nearly all inshore waters in March, April, and 
May, with the result that line fishing has become much more developed, 
the bait being living Gobies {Gohms nige7'), called 'kutling.' It is legal 
to fish with a siene for these, but the dimensions of the net are strictly 
defined. The close-times vary for different fish and in different districts ; 
they apply to all flat-fish, cod, eels, shrimps, &c. The sale of immature 
fish is prohibited, the restrictions varying according to local circumstances, 
e.g., eels under 13J and 14 inches; cod under 9 and 10 inches; ' flat- 
* fish ' under 7 inches, flounders sometimes under 6 inches ; and brill and 
turbot under 10 inches A defect in the law appears to be that the sale 
alone of immature fish is prohibited; they are allowed to be brought 
ashore and used, a provision which tends to nullify the principle of such 
regulation. 
In the official statistics a mass of most important information concern- 
ing Danish fisheries is to be found ; but space allows of only a very brief 
summary. In 1889 the gross value of the Danish sea fisheries was 
3,600,894 kroners (£200,000), as follows (in kroners) :— cod, 370,916; 
'flounders' (chiefly plaice), 1,115,919; common soles, 244,467 ; turbot, 
19,420; brill (Slethvar), 11,263; mackerel, 1,989 ; herrings, 720,245 
(caught in sienes= 197,575; in drift-nets, 522,670) ; eels, 747,227 (caught 
in traps, by hook, or speared, 480,676 ; caught in nets, 266,351). f Gar- 
fish (Belone)y 36,545; salmon and grilse (Orred), 163,446 ; shrimps, 
78,685 ; various (unenumerated), 90,772. Compared with Scottish 
fisheries, the large proportion of flat-fish is remarkable, and very specially 
the great value of eels. There is little doubt the eel-fishery is capable of 
greater development in Scotland. The Danish sea coast is divided into ten 
districts, and the values for groups of these are : east coast of Jutland 
(districts i.-iii.), 1,369,074 kroners; North-East Zealand (districts iv.-v.) 
804,379; southern islands (districts vi.-ix.), 1,135,359; Bornholm (x.) 
292,082. The number of those fishing in 1889 was 7317, of whom 5107 
were fishermen proper, and 2210 those occasionally employed. Details 
are given of the number of men employed in the different fisheries — as 
for cod, plaice, &c. Mackerel fishing is gradually falling off ; mackerel are 
now only caught in herring drift-nets. The deep-sea fishery in the 
Cattegat and North Sea is increasing. In 1889, 186 cutters or smacks, 
131 open boats, and 1403 men were engaged in it, and the total value of 
the catch was 1,106,406 kroners. A Danish steam-trawling company 
has been formed, and has commenced operations in the North Sea (vide 
* Fiskeri-Beretning for Finianitsaaret, 1889-90, af. C.,F. Drechsel. Kj0beuhavn, 
1891. Pp. 1-32. 
+ It is said the eel pot fishing is considerably greater than shown. 
