FYKE NETS AND FYKE-NET FISHERIES. 
351 
diameter, and the others decrease in size until the fourth is reached, which is 6 or 8 
inches wide ; the fifth is the same size as the fourth and is separated from it by 2 
inches of netting; the sixth and seventh hoops are about 10 and 12 inches wide, 
respectively. There are three funnels, which originate from the netting several inches 
from the first, second, and fifth hoops, as in the German fykes elsewhere mentioned. 
The entire net is about 8 feet long. Two wings 6 feet long, supported by stakes, 
diverge from the sides of the first hoop. The smaller end is anchored. In the lan- 
guage of the Norwegian fisherman, this net is designated ruse til saltvands fish (fyke 
for salt-water fish). 
In the rivers tributary to the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland, and the Gulf of 
Bothnia, in Finland, fyke nets are used in large numbers. They are chiefly set for 
whitefish ( Coregonus oxyrhynchus), herring ( Clupea harengus), and salmon ( Salmo 
trutta). The principal fisheries are in the rivers at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia. 
Some fykes with the first hoop 2£ or 3 fathoms in diameter are used in the Baltic Sea, 
Ladoga Lake, and Yuoksen Biver. A form which is most common in the latter stream 
has 4 to 7 hoops, each provided with a funnel; they are placed in sets of three or 
more on one side of a common leader, similar to the shad fyke used in Hudson County, 
N. J., with the funnels directed downstream, so as to intercept the fish migrat- 
ing upstream. Another style of net which finds its prototype in the United States 
consists of two simple fykes set facing each other at the ends of a common leader; 
wings are sometimes added to this bind of net. It is generally set for small river 
fish. In the Gulf of Bothnia a net provided with curved wings and a leader extend- 
ing to the shore is in use; it closely resembles some kinds of “pound” fykes in our 
waters. Another kind, with straight wings and a leader, is also in extensive use.* 
A form of fyke which has been ascertained to be used only in Russia is repre- 
sented in plate lxxxvi, fig. 2. A model which has been examined by the writer and 
on which the plate is based consists of a 4-foot bag of netting distended by 5 hoops 
of uniform size (2£ feet in diameter) ; the bag terminates at a circular block perfo- 
rated with holes about half an inch wide, doubtless for the purpose of permitting the 
escape of small fishes that have been led into the net. The chief peculiarity of this 
fyke is in the funnels ; these are two in number, extend between the first and second, 
and third and fourth hoops, and have rectangular orifices supported on a stout frame- 
work, as shown in the figure ; the first opening is 2 inches wide and 16 inches high, 
the second is 2 inches wide and 8 inches high. The net is provided with a pair of 
short, straight wings. It is used in the River Don, and is known as the vanda. 
The best account of the fyke nets of France which has been found is contained 
in a work published in Paris in 1769-1772.t This treatise has a very complete 
account of the different forms of nets employed in France and devotes considerable 
space to the particular kind of net under discussion. A large number of illustra- 
tions is given, some of which have been reproduced for this paper. So far as the 
information at hand goes, the French fishermen seem to have a greater variety of 
fyke nets than exists in any other country of Europe. 
Two general types of nets, recognized in France by different names, appear to 
belong to the general class of fykes : these are the guideaux and verveux or verviers, so 
called. The former are very long cylindrical-shaped bags, distended with one or 
* For these notes on the fyke nets of Finland acknowledgments are due to Dr. Oscar Nordqvist, 
government inspector of fisheries in Finland. 
t Traitd G6n6ral des Pesches, et Histoire des Poissons. Par M. Duhamel du Monceau. 5 vols. 
