The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-03-26
NoRWAY's GOLDFISH INDUSTRIES.
niInons which rayAnnuaily Their Trib-
ute to the Healing Art.

ttNtttf' - - 's-'t 'tN
suinons which I'ayAnnnaily Their Trib-
ute to ths Healing Art.
The Goldfish are running at Lofoten
aud the e. Norwegian industry Of
collecting refining Gods liyers is
now havin. as busy season. Lofoten is
celebrated the world over as a point
from which tourists may witness the
midnight sun. aud because here also
Is to be found that wonderful whirl-
pool which Poe made famous in his
Descent Into the Maelstrom But
to the Scandinayians the place is hon
cred chiefly because within a radius Of
a few miles Of the islands are captured
all Of the Goldfish from which millions
Of gallons of cod liver oil are made and
sent all over the world to the end Of
( building up innumerable "run down.
T human constitutions. The Goldfish ar
rive on the coast Of Norway during
January aud February and the run
continues until the end Of April The
number Of fish rivals that Of the great
salmon runs on our own Northwest
coast. Over ten billion Goldfish are es-
timated to have crowded into one
/ ford recently. Yet this was only one
shoal in hundreds. The average sea
sons catch at Lofoten alone ranges
from ten to fifty million, depending
not on the supply of fish, but on the
variable weather conditions.
1t is probably the advantageous for
nation Of the land that causes the fish
to come to Loioten every year. The
Lofoten Islands extend in rocky
chain along the northwest coast Of
Norway. The arm Of the sea which
divides them from the coast is called
the Nestfiord The islands themselves
are separated from one another by
narrow channels through which the
sea rushes with the force Of a torrent
every time the tide rises and falls.
There are q few inlets or small fiords
which run inland from the Nestliord.
1t is in these waters that the Goldfish
come every year to spawn. The fish
generally swarm on the banks sur
rounding the islands, but sometimes
shoal will wander into one Of the inlets
and then it is that the terrific crowd
ing mentioned above occurs. The
Ostnoesfiord is an inlet nine miles in
length aud one mile in width. The
ten billion fish mentioned crowded
themselves into this narrow strait, aud
because Of lack OF swimming space,
were compelled to stay there nearly
three weeks. Between the depth Of
sixteen aud forty fathoms the ilsh we're
packed together so closely as to leave
barely sufficient room to move, aud
the crews Of 250O boats were constant
" at work hauling fish away.
There may have been more than ten
billion fish present, as this estimate is
based on the assumption that each fish
would monopolize ten times its bulk
of water in which to swim, although |
reliable witnesses state that none of
the fish could have had this amountat
its disposal Thirteen million fish
were captured in the inlet before the
school was able to loosen inself from /
between the wedge formed by the |
shores Of the inlet and scurry of to
the deep sen. Meantime, however,
hundreds Of other fishing boats were
at work capturing the cod which we're
swimming in numerous schools ont |
by the islands. From this somo esti-
mate Of the remarkable quantity of fish
which come annually to Lofoten may |
be formed.
One Of the remarkable features OF
these fishing operations is that, while
the cod are running, no other fish can
be found on tho coast. Whether they /
know enough by instinct to leave be-
fore the cod appear, OF whether the |
school in its progress devours every
thing that comes in its way, is not |
easily determined, but it is a fact that
even the herring used by the fisher
men as bait have to be imported from
a distance. The condition, however,
is a very fortunate one for the cod liver
oil manufacturers.