The North Atlantic Fisheries, 1100-1976 - University of Hull

Russian sailing merchants from the White Sea area. The Russians
brought grain, cereals and other goods. These products were exchanged
for raw fish which was salted directly aboard the ships. In the beginning,
this barter was unlicensed and difficult for the local authorities to control.
Gradually, however, some kind of trade between Russians and
Norwegians was allowed for specific commodities, but only in a limited
geographical area and also chronologically limited to a part of the
summer.
From the point of view of the North Norwegian coastal inhabitants
this exchange of cereals for fish had several advantages. First they got a
new channel of grain delivery and were therefore not so vulnerable to
obstacles in the transport system as before. This advantage was of special
importance during the Napoleonic Wars. Second the Russian demand for
fish was strongest during the summer when the quality of dried fish was
poor and when it was particularly difficult to sell it in regular markets. In
the summer time the drying process was a hazardous undertaking
because flies easily damaged the fish by placing their eggs in the fish
meat. Besides, there was a very low demand for salted summer fish on
the other foreign markets and prices here were consequently very low. A
third advantage was that the direct barter between the small-scale
fishermen and the Russian sailing tradesmen gave a kind of
independence to the first group with regard to their relationship to
domestic tradesmen, whether they were local or distant ones.
Participation in the most important regional fisheries was also
increasing during the nineteenth century. At Lofoten, the number of
fishermen of the great cod fishery in the winter reached its peak in the
years 1888-1897. 290 In eight of these ten years more than 30,000
fishermen were participating. At Finnmark another great cod fishery was
developing from the middle of the century. It took place in the spring,
when the cod was seeking the coast for food purposes, following the
capelin, a small salmon fish. An average of 15,000 fishermen were
taking part in this fishery in the second part of the century. Many of them
came from other regions, especially from the other counties of Northern
Norway, Nordland and Troms. In Western Norway, herring fishery was
still the most important. The great herring period of the century started in
1808 and lasted for more than 60 years. When participation was at its
290 Solhaug 1976, 169.
159