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

in Tvøroyri, which in the 1920s became the most important fishing
harbour in the Faroes. Every year, not only did many fishermen come,
but also girls to process the dried salted cod. 73
The inshore fishing did not greatly affect daily life in the Faroes, in as
much as the fishermen came home every evening and could take part in
all the other work of the village. With the smack fishery everything was
quite different. The smacks left at the beginning of March, and apart
from a couple of weeks at home, did not return until the end of
September. 74 This meant that a couple of thousand men were away for
the whole summer. Most were between 14 and 40 years of age. In many
ways this affected not only the lives of these people, but also daily life at
home in the Faroes. These people assumed more and more, both
mentally and socially, the role of seamen. Since they were away half of
the year, they did not have the same opportunity to learn and take part in
the traditional work of the Faroes. Naturally they lost interest in farming
and the other work of the farmer. This lack of interest in farming can particularly
be seen in the Faroes after the First World War, when all
development in Faroese agriculture stagnated. 75 The people who did the
work at home were old men, women and children. It is interesting to
note, too, how the new occupational culture clearly influenced the birth
rate curve, so that soon almost 45% of all children in the Faroes were
born in July, that is they were conceived immediately after the return of
the men in the autumn. 76 The smack fishery meant that the women and
children at home not only suffered from the absence of husbands and
fathers, but the women had a heavier workload and increased responsibility.
What had previously been shared between man and wife, the
woman now had to deal with alone. 77
The smacks developed particular social systems with a culture of their
own. This Faroese maritime culture was a mixture of fisher and seaman
tradition. The work of sailing the vessel was organized along the lines of
the traditions of Danish or Nordic seamen, with the same watch system
73 The best general literature with statistical material is Patursson 1962.
74 Joensen 1975.
75 See Joensen 1985:20 and 134 and the literature referred to in this connection.
76 Joensen 1945.
77 Joensen 1987.
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