in abundance, consisting of different littoral animals, especially crusta

ceans.

The young codfish may soon, however, be distinguished from the young pollack by their different habits. The young pollack are generally found near the surface, while the young codfish keep nearer the bottom, the deeper the larger they grow, and their favorite places seem to be those where the coast falls off abruptly.

It will be noticed that on the whole the similarity in the stationary mode of life between the young codfish and the young pollack is only a seeming one, but that the former are in reality migrating all the time, which circumstance only escaped my observation because they do it so gradually and at different times according to their different age. Those young fish which in the beginning come close to the shore migrate in proportion as they grow larger into deeper water, and their place is taken by smaller and younger fish which hitherto have kept near the medusæ, or have been in that state of transition when in large schools they roam about near the outer coast. These again, as they grow up, very gradually seek the deeper places, which have been left by the other young fish, which migrate to still deeper water, &c., until at last at the age of one year the young fish, well known to the fishermen by the name of "algæ fish," make their appearance at a depth of 20 to 30 fathoms on the sandy bottoms between the groves of alge near the outer coast.

I believe that, by my former remarks, I have proved satisfactorily that these fish are not different from the codfish proper, but that they are the young fish from the preceding year. It is true that on certain parts of our coast, especially in the deep fiords, small codfish are found, which always keep in shallow water and never grow as large as the large codfish; but this is only caused by the natural conditions being less favorable to the development of the codfish than near the outer coast. In the fish-market in Christiania I have seen cod fish which only measured one foot in length, and which, nevertheless, had mature roe and milt. Such instances never occur near the Loffoden Islands, where the smallest codfish having completely developed sexual organs never measure less than a yard. Even in the largest algæ-codfish found near these islands I, in most cases, only discovered very insignificant beginnings of roe or milt, which show that all these fish occurring on the algæ bottoms are by no means fully grown, and are only temporarily sojourning there, and finally go out to sea, where probably in a short time they assume the distinct characteristic features of the codfish. As yet I cannot say from personal observations at what time of the year or at what age they leave the coast, but hope that future investigations will throw more light on this matter. I consider it very probable, how ever, that their "going out" is as gradual and scarcely noticeable as their previous migrations to a shorter distance from the coast.

From the fishermen I learned that the one-year-old codfish occur most numerously a short time after the close of the winter fisheries and far into the summer, for those persons who stay at home are in the habit

of catching them with small lines; but toward autumn their number decreases very perceptibly, although even then "alga-fish" of different sizes are occasionally caught. From this it appears as if the "going out" took place, to some extent at least, in the course of the second year after the hatching. It is possible, however, that later in the year they only barely go out to the deep water, where there is no fishing at that time, and that they stay near the outer side of the great ridge (Egbakke). I consider it highly probable that some, although, comparatively speaking, a small number, remain somewhat longer, until they are fully grown and their roe and milt is fully developed, and these are probably the fish which are known to the fishermen under the name of "coming-in fish," "ridgefish," and "bottom-fish," and which are by them considered as the forerunners of the schools of codfish which come in at the beginning of winter. It is quite natural, however, that there is not room enough for all the masses of fish which gradually migrate from the algae bottoms toward the deep. The greater number of them must, therefore, go farther in order to find sufficient food. Gradually, therefore, they reach the outermost bottoms, from which they again migrate farther.

The actual place of sojourn of the codfish is, as I said before, not known with absolute certainty. I shall, however, venture to make a supposition; all the more, as from several reasons I have felt constrained to abandon the supposition expressed in my first report, that they staid in the great deep between the ridge and the coast. Later investigations have made it seem probable that their place of sojourn is not the deep between the coast and the ridge, but this ridge itself. Early observations have shown that this ridge, which, though interrupted in several places, forms a continuous series of shallow places, extends along the greater part of our coast at a considerable distance from the land, and that it has always abounded in fish of various kinds, among the rest large codfish. People formerly believed that these codfish, distinguished from other codfish by the name "bank-fish," always lived here, and must consequently also spawn and develop here. But my observations on the propagation and development of the codfish have convinced me that this cannot be the case. According to these observations all the codfish, without exception, must spawn near the coast, in order that the eggs may be properly impregnated and hatched, and that the young fish may find the food which they need at the various stages of their development. Nothing therefore seems more natural than to suppose that the "bank-fish" and the codfish are one and the same fish, and that this ridge stretching out far at sea is the proper place of sojourn not only of the codfish, but possibly of other fish which, like them, only appear near the coast at certain seasons of the year, e. g., the herring. In this locality, therefore, the full grown codfish live all during summer and autumn, and only when their sexual organs have been fully developed, which probably takes place the third year after the hatching, do they gather here in large schools in order to come nearer to the coast for the purpose of spawning.

V.-REPORT OF PRACTICAL AND SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COD FISHERIES NEAR THE LOFFODEN ISLANDS, MADE DURING THE YEARS 1870-1873.

BY G. O. SARS.

A.-REPORT FOR 1870.*

It was my intention on this journey, if possible, to extend the ob servations of the development of the winter-codfish which I had made last year, and at the same time to renew my observations on certain points which I thought needed corroboration. By having made my observations at different seasons of the year, I had gradually succeeded in following the development of the winter-codfish from the egg to the age of one year; and among the rest I proved one important fact which will play a prominent part in all future investigations of the cod-fisheries, viz: That the small form of codfish, which, under different names (algæ fish, bottom-fish, &c.), is found on our northern and western coasts all the year round, is not, as was formerly thought, a separate variety of the codfish, but the offspring of the winter-codfish; therefore winter-codfish which have not yet reached their full development. I had, likewise, in the course of my investigations, convinced myself that the many differences of color and shape occurring in these fish are, if not exclusively, at any rate to a great extent, due to the surroundings in which they live, especially the nature of the bottom, and the food which is dependent on this; and that if these surroundings are changed, the fish assume a different appearance in an astonishingly short time. It was my object this year to examine these fish during their further growth, and, if possible, to study and explain the various phases in their mode of living, as I had formerly done with regard to those young fish which had not yet reached the age of one year. I found, however, very soon, that the older the fish grew the more difficult such an investigation would be. Formerly I had been able to make my observations with the greatest ease from my boat, or even from the shore; and changes in the weather had never seriously interrupted my work. All was dif ferent now. The fish had long since left the coast, and gone out to the vast ocean; and I was thus obliged to use my fishing implements in order to get any idea at all regarding their place of sojourn and their

Indberetning til | Departmentet for det Indre | fra Cand. G. O. Sars om de af ham i Aarene 1870-'73 anstillede Praktisk-videnskabelige | Undersögelser angaaende Torskefiskeriet i Lofoten. | Christiania, 1874. Translated by Herman Jacobson.

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mode of life. In the following, I intend to give all the facts I ascer tained in this manner; and, as in my former reports, I shall first give a simple description of the course and the method I pursued in my investigations, and then give a brief résumé of the results.

On the 9th of May I left Christiania by steamer, and, traveling via Bergen and Trondhjem, I arrived at Svalvær on the Loffoden Islands on the 20th. From Svalvær, I immediately went to the fishing-station of Skraaven, which, in many respects, I had found the most convenient place for my investigations; and where, moreover, I had last year left a quantity of apparatus. The season was certainly farther advanced than when I left the Loffoden the last time; but I was pretty sure that I would not lose my thread this time, but could easily connect my investigations with those of last year.

My last method of fishing, which in the course of my investigations I had had to change quite frequently, had consisted in using short lines, with which last year I had caught a considerable number of fish, and I therefore intended to make use of them again; at any rate, in the beginning. There was one difficulty, however, connected with this, viz: the scarcity of bait. Formerly I had been fortunate enough to obtain fresh herring; but now I could not get a single herring; neither could I expect to obtain any shell-fish, as during the winter fisheries nearly all those near the fishing-stations had been used. The only bait which I hoped to obtain was a worm, the Fjæramak (Arenicola piscatorum), which are found here in large numbers, and which are successfully used as bait for small fish at different points along our coast. This worm, which lives deep in the sand of the shore, can only be obtained by being dug up with a spade; an operation requiring time and considerable skill, if it is not to be cut in pieces.

After I had spent several hours in procuring such worms I had my lines prepared, and set them in those places among the outer islands where the water has a depth of 20-30 fathoms, and where last year I had caught many fish. I was again successful; but what struck me as peculiar was the circumstance that nearly all the fish which I caught were so large that I could not well consider them as one-year-old fish, but rather as two-year-old fish; and as I must get the one-year-old fish, I could not be satisfied, but had to find out where these fish staid. By setting my lines nearer to the coast, and in shallower places, I succeeded in catching some one-year-old fish; but so few, that I became convinced that the great mass of these fish did not stay here. There was, therefore, no other chance left but to make investigations at random, with the hope of finding their place of sojourn. I had been obliged to do similar things so often during my previous investigations, that I was by no means worried by it; as I had not the slightest doubt that sooner or later I would find the one-year-old fish.

Instead of the heavy line I got myself a thinner hand-line with which I intended to fish at various points, and which would enable me to go

over a larger space of the bottom in a day than I could otherwise have done in a week. I was not particularly successful near the shore, but the pulling at the line by fish biting the bait was quite lively when I approached the hidden depths lying farther out toward the places where the bottom falls off abruptly toward the great deep. During winter when the weather is stormy these places are almost inaccessible, and then present one mass of seething foam. They are well known to the fishermen as good summer fishing-places, and are visited by them especially during the time when the pollack approach the shore. The pollack-fisheries are almost exclusively carried on in these places. At this time, however, the pollack had not yet arrived, and such localities were therefore exclusively held by their relatives, the cod.

The majority of the cod which I caught here (and I caught no other fish) were certainly one-year-old fish, having an average length of one foot; but occasionally I also caught larger fish which required consid erable exertion in hauling up, and whose age was certainly three years at the very least. Of two-year-old cod I found but few. Most of the cod caught here were of the variety generally termed "algæ fish," as their color was more or less a reddish brown with a beautiful golden gloss on the sides, and their shape somewhat stouter than is generally the case. I knew, however, that this was only owing to their living among the red algæ; and during the course of my observation this opinion was fully confirmed.

During the following days I continued my observations in the many deep places which are near this fishing station, and with the same result. There was no difficulty in obtaining as many one-year-old fish as I desired. These excursions were not without danger, and would have been still more so if I had not had experienced people with me. As soon as the heavy waves begin to come in from the sea, which cannot always be distinctly seen from a small boat, these places are not to be trusted. The weather may be perfectly calm, and the sea around these places be as smooth as a mirror, and still there is danger, unless great care is taken, of being suddenly ingulfed in the waves without the least chance of escape. It is, therefore, not advisable to go with the boat on these deep places, but rather to keep near the edge. It is astonishing to observe how the sea near to the boat suddenly rises in the shape of a broad pyramid, which slowly sinks down to the general surface. For a long time again the sea may look perfectly smooth, but as soon as the fishermen have noticed the above-described suspicious movement of the sea they cannot be induced to approach the place, for if the boat should be where the pyramid of water rises, it would surely be dashed to pieces. These dangerous places have caused many losses during the winterfisheries, when boat-crews which were not well acquainted with these waters got within their reach. But by keeping at a certain distance one may, without any special danger, witness the grand and interesting sight of the great waves rising and falling. It may happen, however,