History of Old Hunting and

Trapping Methods - Sweden

Introduction

Hunting involves searching for, tracking, pursuing, capturing, and killing game. Originally, hunting was used to obtain food, clothing, and footwear. The hunting methods used varied greatly depending on the terrain, prey, and technological factors. The title picture above shows "Wolf hunting in Westergötland" by Fritz von Dardel in 1847. A sled with three men and a pig is pursued by two wolves. Image: Wikipedia. Note: "To hunt" is to hunt in American English. In British English, "hunt" means to hunt on horseback. There, the expression for hunting is "to shoot". In fact, "hunting" without qualification implies fox hunting in the UK. What in other countries is called "hunting" is called "shooting" (birds) or "stalking" (deer) in Britain.

Related Links

• Old hunting and trapping methods, page 1 • Old hunting and trapping methods, page 3 • The Old Agricultural Society and its People • The conceptions of croft (torp) and crofters (torpare) • The Concept of Nobility • Summer Pasture - Fäbodar • The subdivisions of Sweden into Lands, Provinces and Counties • Map, Swedish provinces • Map, Swedish counties

Source References

• Det gamla Ytterlännäs, Sten Berglund, 1974. Published by Ytterlännäs Hembygdsförening. Chapter 41 (page 395). • Jaktens historia i Sverige : vilt - människa - samhälle - kultur, Kjell Danell; Roger Bergström; Leif Mattsson; Sverker Sörlin. 2016. • Vilt i Sverige och Europa – igår, idag och imorgon, Daniel Ligné, Svenska Jägarförbundet • Is the fear of Wolves justified? A Fennoscandian perspective, 2002. John D.C. Linnell, Erling J. Solberg, Scott Brainerd, Olof Liberg, Håkan Sand, Petter Wabakken, Ilpo Kojola. • Makten över jakten, article in Populär Historia by Gunnar Brusewitz 2001. • Om fiskfångst med snara. Edvard Wibeck. 1915. • Björn i Nordisk familjebok (andra upplagan, 1905) • Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 12. Hyperemi - Johan / 1203-1204 • Wikipedia • Swedish church books Top of page

Hunting of Birds

Birds have been caught or hunted for their meat. A common method was a type of log trap, known as “brann.” See description of log traps. When hunting hazel grouse (Tetrastes bonasia), it was common for the hunter to try to attract hazel hens with fine mimicking whistles. So-called hazel grouse pipes were also used for this purpose. The bird is sometimes called the hazel hen. The hazel grouse is a popular forest bird for hunting in large parts of its range. In Sweden, hazel grouse hunting occurs mainly in the northern regions, where the hunting season is from 25 August to 15 November. The image to the right shows a hazel grouse (Swe: järpe). Image: Wikipedia. The meat of the hazel grouse is considered to be extremely tasty and is valued more highly than that of many other poultry birds. Two subspecies of hazel grouse breed in Sweden, bonasia in the south and griseonota in the north. The species occurs from Småland in the south to Lapland in the north, but not in the mountains. It is most abundant in the forest regions of northern Sweden. The hazel grouse is the smallest species of forest grouse in Sweden. The Swedish term for hazel grouse is "järpe". When catching the willow grouse (Swe: dalripa), which used to be very common and which came to cultivated land in winter, snares were used. Twigs with leaf buds were stuck into the snow or ground to form a low hedge or a small meadow (playpen). Openings were made here and there in this, and snares of horsehair or soft brass wire were placed in them. When a willow grouse came walking along the twig hedge and chose to crawl through one of these openings, the snare was wrapped around its neck. When she tried to free herself from the snare, she was strangled as the snare was tightened. Hunting for grouse is mainly carried out along the mountain chain. Willow grouse is also known as the willow ptarmigan. The rock ptarmigan (Swe: fjällripa), is mainly hunted in the mountain region above the tree line, and the willow grouse, from the high mountain terrain down into the woodland bog terrain. Until the early 20th century, hunting for grouse was an important means of survival for small farmers and settlers in the northern Swedish mountains, where snares were mostly used to catch the grouse. The image to the right shows a willow grouse (Swe: dalripa), an adult male in summer plumage. Image: Wikipedia. The willow grouse (Lagopus lagopus) is a medium- sized species of bird in the grouse family that occurs over much of the northern hemisphere. All subspecies except the “moripa” (red grouse) wear white winter plumage. The Swedish term for the willow grouse is “dalripa”. The rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) is a fowl that lives in the barren Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, and there are also a number of isolated mountain populations in more southerly latitudes. It is very similar to the willow grouse, with a large round body and a rather small head. The Swedish term for the rock ptarmigan is “fjällripa”. The black woodpecker (Dryocopus martius) has also been shot for food in the past. A 90-year-old hunter in Ångermanland, Sweden, expressed his appreciation of the meat of the black woodpecker at the beginning of the 20th century as follows: 'I can shoot a black woodpecker just as well as a hazel grouse. The Swedish term for the black woodpecker is “spillkråka”. The capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is a forest bird in the grouse family. It is found in open forests in northern and central Europe and northern Asia and the subspecies, T. u. urogallus especially in Scandinavia and Scotland. It is closely related to the black grouse and there are hybrids between capercaillie and other fowl. It is a very large and heavy fowl, similar to the black grouse, but distinguished by its larger size and rounded tail. It is 74-90 cm long and has a wingspan of about 115 cm. The capercaillie is also known as the western capercaillie, Eurasian capercaillie, and wood grouse. The Swedish term for the capercaillie is “tjäder”. The image to the right shows a capercaillie (Swe: tjäder), a courting cock. Image: Wikipedia. In Sweden, the capercaillie is found in all major coniferous forests from northern Skåne up to the coniferous forest line in the Lapland mountains. A quarter of the European population of capercaillie is found in Sweden. The capercaillie has a long history as a hunting game. It is hunted for its meat but also for sport. In Sweden and Norway, the capercaillie is a popular hunting prey and is considered the "big game" among birds. In Sweden, it is mainly hunted in northern and central Sweden, but also in parts of Västergötland and Småland, where it occurs in large populations. Hunting is carried out mainly with barking bird dogs such as Finnish and Norrbotten Spitz, but also with bay bird dogs such as German pointer and Gordon Setter. In northern Sweden, capercaillie is also hunted with hunting rifles in the winter. The black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) is a forest bird in the grouse family. The black grouse is a non-migratory bird found in the northern Palearctic, mainly in heathland and marshland adjacent to forests. Before breeding, which takes place in early spring, the black grouse courts at specific sites and has a very distinctive courtship ritual. The cock’s size is between 49 and 58 cm and its wingspan is around 75-80 cm. The black grouse breeds throughout Sweden, except on Öland, from Skåne to far up in Lapland. The majority of Swedish black grouse are found in the north of the country, as the population in the southern parts of the country has declined since the 1970s. It breeds in woodland, on heaths, and bogs. In Lapland, it can be seen on the mountain slopes up into the birch region. Thanks to its tasty meat, the black grouse is considered a valuable game. In autumn, the grouse are mainly hunted with tree-barking bird dogs such as the Finnish spitz, but also with standing bird dogs such as the German pointer. In winter, stalking with rifles, known as treetop hunting, is most common, as the black grouse often stay in the birch tops. The image to the right shows a black grouse (Swe: orre), a courting cock. Image: Wikipedia. The Eurasian woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) is a member of the sandpiper family that occurs over much of the temperate and subarctic regions of the Palaearctic and, unlike many species in the family, is found in forested areas. The Eurasian woodcock is a ball-shaped, stout bird, with a long straight bill. Its body length can reach 38 cm. It breeds throughout Sweden but is more common in the central parts. The Swedish population is migratory and only a few individuals attempt to winter in southern Sweden some winters. The meat of the woodcock is considered by many to be a delicacy and there are several ways to hunt it. During the autumn migration, the Eurasian woodcock are hunted mainly by pointing and flushing bird dogs. The hunter may use a call whistle, among other things, to get the bird at close range. The image to the left shows a Eurasian woodcock (Swe: morkulla). Image: Wikipedia. The pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is a bird in the pheasant family that was originally found only in southern Asia but has been introduced to many places around the world, including Europe, and there are thousands in Sweden, wherein many places it has gone feral. The pheasant was introduced into Sweden to palatial environments in the 18th century but has since gone feral and become widespread. In Sweden, it is found in the southern half of the country, on Öland and Gotland, and in the north, mainly along the Baltic coast. The feral population is thought to occur as far north as Medelpad but the pheasant is not adapted to snowy winters. It grows to 53-85 cm in length, with a wingspan of 70-90 cm. The pheasant is a popular game bird and is hunted mainly with flashing and pointing bird dogs. Pheasants are also common prey in clap hunts with beaters. Pheasant meat is generally considered tasty and is one of the reasons for hunting. The hunting season in Sweden is from 1 October to 31 January. The image to the right shows a pheasant (Swe: fasan), a cock. Image: Wikipedia. The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is a dabbling duck that is very common and widespread in large parts of the Northern Hemisphere. The mallard, together with the muscovy duck, is the origin of the domestic duck. The mallard is a large and powerful duck, measuring 55-60 cm and with a wingspan of 81-95 cm. Mallards are mainly hunted in so-called flight hunting, when birds fly between different watercourses, and can also be attracted by decoys. Another common form of hunting is take-off hunting; then an aggressive flush is necessary, to spring the mallards to wing up from the banks of rivers and lakeshores. When duck hunting, it is important to have access to a bird dog that can retrieve the ducks, as they can be difficult to find in reedy waters and the like. In many places, mallards are reared for breeding for hunting purposes. The image to the right shows a mallard or wild duck (Swe: gräsand), a cock. Image: Wikipedia.

Seal-hunting

Seals (Pinnipedia) are a group of animals in the order of predators. “Seacat” is an old name used by hunters as a term for seal. Almost all seals live in the sea, but to rest and to give birth to pups they come ashore or to ice floes. In Sweden, there are 3 species, all belonging to the family of earless seals - the gray seal, harbor seal, and ringed seal. During the 2015 seal census, a total of around 60,000 seals were counted in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, of which just under 30,000 were gray seals. Seals are considered big game and for hunting in Sweden a special permit is required from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. The image shows a seal hunt in the winter of 1900 in the Stockholm archipelago at Stora Nassa. Image: Wikipedia. In prehistoric times, seals were mostly hunted by the population in areas where they are found. Since the 16th century, there were seafarers who sailed out to hunt seals, but it was not until the end of the 18th century that the great seal hunt began. Throughout the 19th century, sealers visited islands near the Arctic and Antarctic to slaughter thousands of seals. Fur seals were particularly sought after for their fur. The seals were beaten with clubs in the skull (clubbing) or shot. They are then checked to make sure they are dead, and finally, they are bled and skinned. In the past, seals were usually killed with special clubs (hakapik) to avoid damaging the fur, but today firearms are mainly used. Also in Sweden, seal pubs have been hunted by clubbing. If you succeeded in killing the turkey with a single blow, it was called “bålhagg”. Seals have been used for their fur, meat, and fat. The fat has often been used as fuel for lamps, as a lubricant, as cooking oil, as an ingredient in soap, as a liquid base for red dye (ochre), and as processing materials such as leather and jute. Hunting in the 19th and early 20th centuries was carried out with small hunting boats (Swe: fälbåt) and special ski-poles (Swe: skredstång) in hunting teams on the spring ice. The boat was made with a long stem, which meant that it could penetrate ice up to 6-7 cm thick, and was easier to pick up on the ice. For transport on the ice, manual power was used. Each boat team consisted of 3-4 men. The stay on the ice was one and a half to two months. A “skredstång” is a ski-like tool that was previously used for seal hunting in the Gulf of Bothnia. A “skredstång” was considerably wider and longer than a normal ski. It could be three to four meters long and a few decimeters wide. The hunters got around by holding one leg on the ski pole and kicking their way with the other leg. In this way, they made fast progress on snow-covered ice and over cracks in the ice. In the front of the ski pole, there was a screen, a white cloth shield behind which the hunter could hide. The rifle could be stuck through a hole in the middle of the screen. The image shows seal hunting boats during seal hunting on the ice in the Gulf of Bothnia in 1936. On the ice, you can see the typical ski-like "skredstång" used by the seal hunters in Sweden. Image: Nordiska museet, ID: NMA.0042517. The gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) is a seal found in the Baltic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The gray seal is larger than the harbor seal and the ringed seal, and unlike other seal species found on the Swedish coast, it has a cone-shaped head. The gray seal mainly feeds on fish and, as a number of important food fish may be included in its diet and because of its ability to damage catches and fishing gear, it has come into conflict with fisheries in several parts of its range. Seals forage on fishing gear and tear both catch and gear. Attempts have been made to develop seal-proof hoop nets/fyke nets (Swe: ryssja), but net fishing is more difficult to protect. Both Sweden and Finland have reintroduced limited hunting of gray seals. This is a quota hunt and the breeding season is protected. The Swedish name is “gråsäl”. The image shows a gray seal (Swe: gråsäl) in Måkläppen nature reserve at the southern tip of the Falsterbo peninsula, Skåne, southern Sweden. Image: Wikipedia. The harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) is a species of the earless seal family found mainly in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and the North Sea. It also lives along the west coast of Sweden and in the southern Baltic Sea. Humans hunted the harbor seal in ancient times - partly for its meat, partly for its fur and trail oil. It was not until the 1970s that protection measures were introduced for the harbor seal. The population in the North Sea has now recovered to a population of around 7,000 harbor seals. The Swedish name is “knubbsäl”. The image shows a harbor seal (Swe: knubbsäl). Bild: Wikipedia. The ringed seal (Pusa hispida) is a circumpolar seal, mainly found in the Arctic Ocean where it is the largest seal population. Two subspecies live permanently in freshwater lakes. The ringed seal is slightly smaller than the harbor seal. The Atlantic ringed seal is by far the largest and most widespread subspecies of the seal. In the 19th century, there were a few hundred thousand ringed seals in the Baltic Sea, and in the early 20th century more than a hundred thousand individuals. Through hunting, the species almost became extinct. There are now around 5,500 ringed seals in the Baltic sea. The population is increasing in the Gulf of Bothnia, where about 70% of all Baltic ringed seals live, but in the southern parts (the Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Riga, and the Stockholm Archipelago) the population is rather weak, partly due to the mild winters. The Swedish name is “vikare”. The image shows a ringed seal (Swe: vikare). Image: Wikipedia. The image below shows a seal hunt along the Sundsvall coast around 1908. Image: Sundsvall museum, ID: SuM-foto033148.

Fishing Methods

Fishing is the catching of animals in the water, such as fish, shellfish, etc., either professionally or as recreational fishing (i.e. either subsistence fishing with professional gear or sport fishing). A person who engages in fishing on a professional basis is called a fisherman. From the Middle Ages onwards, professional fishing could be carried out mainly in lakes and on the coast, as it was part of the water regime. However, fishing rights could be included in town privileges, and these towns had town fishermen. An old method of fishing is the clubbing of burbot on the ice. When the water froze over in autumn and the ice was transparent, you could see the burbot through the ice where it was shallow. With an ax-head or a mallet, you would strike the ice and stun the burbot, then cut a hole in the ice and pick it up. The burbot (Swe: lake) is actually a deep-water fish, but when the ice settles it seeks out shallower water and becomes visible if the ice is crystal clear. This fishing method was therefore used close to the shore. It was when the ice was 5-8 cm thick that it was easiest to club the burbot. The burbot (Lota lota) is a cod-like fish found in the Northern Hemisphere. Its length is usually between 35 and 70 cm but sometimes reaches 80 cm. The burbot usually weighs between two and three kg and rarely exceeds ten kg. The image to the right shows a man clubbing burbot on the ice. Photo: Hilding Mickelsson 1972. Image: Hälsingland museum, ID: HMM91375. There have also been hook and line fisheries of various kinds in the past: angling, homemade fishing lures, and longline fishing. Until less than 150 years ago, a type of hook made of juniper wood was used for fishing, especially for salmon fishing. They were made from a single branch of juniper, the dried wood of which is very hard. When used, a cut was made in the bait fish's belly, in which the hook was hidden. A fish hook is thus a fishing tool used to bait with various baits, whereby the fish gets caught on the hook when it tries to eat the bait. The longlines consist of a line with hooks at intervals of a few meters. The line with the baited hooks, usually with pieces of herring or bleak, is set out from a boat. The line is anchored at intervals. Hook and line fishing also includes fishing with handline and jig. Drifting, floating lines are also used to fish with longlines close to the surface of the water. This fishery is mainly for salmon and occurs mainly in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia at certain times of the year. The image to the right shows a fish hook made of juniper wood. Image: Det gamla Ytterlännäs. Fishing with nets is a very old method of fishing. Fishing nets are devices made from fibers woven in a grid-like structure. The nets were fitted with floats of coiled pieces of birch bark and sinkers enclosed in bundles of the same material. The nets were made by the user. Seine fishing or seine-haul fishing (Swe: ringnot or snörpvad) is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. A seine differs from a gillnet, in that a seine encloses fish, wheres a gillnet directly snares fish. A common type of seine is a purse seine (Swe: snörpvad). A purse seine is a large net that is wrapped around a school of fish, then the bottom of the net is pulled together and lifted up with the fish inside. Drift nets (Swe: drivgarn) are nets deployed with floats at the water surface and allowed to drift with the current. Drift nets are used for fishing herring, salmon, and mackerel at sea. “Bottengarn” or “sättgarn” is a fixed fishing gear in the form of a net ("the line") that is set perpendicular to the shore and forces the fish into a "head" (shaped like a large fyke net). The gear is used to catch mainly eels in both salt and fresh water. “Snurrevad” looks like a bottom trawl in shape. Long ropes are used for hauling the “snurrevad” and are hauled towards the vessel which is stationary during fishing. An old fishing method is the fixed device called a “katsa” or “kattis” in Swedish. It was a fixed fishing gear consisting of rods or stakes sunk into the bottom forming a fence and tied together just above the water surface for stability. The rods enclosed one or two compartments, from which the fish could not escape once it had entered through the entrance. A special fenced lane led to the entrance. The fish was taken out of the “katsa” with a fish-fork or similar. The “katsa” was widely used in lakes as well as on the coast. The fixed “katsa” were very common in lake fishing in the southern parts of Sweden until the middle of the 20th century. In the northern parts, they were found in the coastal areas. The image shows the remains of an old “katsa” (fixed fish trap with stakes) in Lake Unden in Västergötland, photographed in 1934. Image: Västergötland museum, ID: 1M16-A9606. An old way of catching salmon is seining (Swe: notfiske). A seine (Swe: not or notvarp) is a fishing tool in the form of a large net. The seine is pulled through the water and is hauled in either on the shore or in a boat. Seines are mainly divided into a few different types - the straight purse seine, which was the most common type, and the wedge purse seine with a wedge, which was mainly used for fishing for demersal species. Both of these types have been called shore seines as they were mainly used for fishing from shore or near shore, as opposed to purse seines (Swe: snörpvad) and “snurrevad”. The seine consists of a central part, often provided with a purse-like or wedge-shaped extension ("the wedge"), in which the fish is to be collected, and two "arms", one on each side. By pulling the seine net, the fish are forced into the purse where they become trapped. The seine net is laid out in a semicircle and hauled in with ropes attached to the “arms”. In order to keep the net in its correct position in the water, it is fitted with floats attached to the upper part, and with sinks made of stone or lead or similar material on the lower part, so that the net follows the bottom. Purse seines come in various sizes, from a few meters to hundreds of meters. The seine net is often stretched over a narrow body of water, such as a stream, river, or bay. It can be pulled from the shore or from a boat, by hand or with various aids, such as horses, nowadays usually with a tractor winch. When hauling by boat, the technique is similar to modern trawling. Historically, seine-haul fishing was very common. The image shows seine-haul fishing by a shore at Lake Siljan in the village of Nusnäs, south of Mora, Dalarna. Image: Nordiska museet, ID: NMA.0043501. The “tena” or fixed gillnet in English, was a fyke net- style gear and is for catching fish in shallow foreshore water, a pot trap. It consists of a sheet of network stretched on stakes fixed into the ground, generally in rivers or in the sea, made from an osier, etc. for entangling and catching the fish. The fixed gillnet was stretched over a frame of stakes, attached to a wooden frame. The side pieces of the frame were extended in both directions, more in the direction to be directed upwards, less in the direction to be inserted into the bottom, and were therefore pointed. When the “tena” was to be inserted, a pair of stakes was first driven into the bottom with the same distance between them as between the side pieces of the frame. The “tena” was lowered into the water next to the lowered rods, to which it was attached with a pair of osier loops, etc. The entrance was arranged as in a fyke net. In front of the entrance, a few spruce branches were placed. The fyke nets are a later phenomenon. The image to the right shows a Swedish “tena”, a type of fish pot trap. Image: Kalmar läns museum, ID: KLM023919. Salmonids (Salmonidae) are a family of ray-finned fishes, the only order of salmon-like fishes (Salmoniformes). The family consists of 10 genera with at least 200 species divided into 3 subfamilies. In Sweden, a distinction is usually made between the three different stocks of salmon: Atlantic salmon, Baltic salmon, and Lake Vänern salmon. Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) is a migratory fish, meaning that it breeds in freshwater but spends most of its adult life in the sea. There it feeds on herring and sand lance and then returns to its "home waters". After one to four years in the sea, mature salmon return to their natal waters to spawn, weighing between one and four kg. Salmon spawn on shallow gravel bottoms in flowing water. Unlike many Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus), most Atlantic salmon survive the spawn and may return for another spawn. In Sweden, the spawning waters of Atlantic salmon are mainly found in the rivers of Halland. Atlantic salmon never pass through the Sound. Baltic salmon are found in the Baltic Sea, in Sweden on the east and south coasts, spawning in the rivers of northern Sweden and in the rivers of Blekinge. Baltic salmon tend to weigh slightly more than Atlantic salmon, and weights of around 25 kg are not uncommon. Vänern salmon grow up in Lake Vänern and spawn in streams that empty into Lake Vänern. Fishing with a fishing spear (Swe: ljuster), which has been banned since 1954, has been widespread in the past. As fishing with a spear usually takes place at dusk or in the dark, the bottom was illuminated by a fire lit on tar wood in a so-called candle iron (lantern basket), the light from which attracted, mainly eels, to the boat in which the fisherman was. The candle iron was attached to the bow or stern of the boat by a long pole. The fish or eels were drawn to the cone of light near the boat and could then be speared. A fishing spear is a sharp, spear-like, or fork-like, usually barbed tool for hunting fish, mainly eels. Spearfishing has been used in lakes, rivers, and along the coast. The spears were usually forged from iron, for example by the village blacksmith, and were designed according to the client's wishes and for the type of fish to be caught, such as pike, salmon and others. The spear was in turn mounted on a long and light wooden shaft. When a fish came close to the boat, the fisherman gently lowered the spear below the water surface, and with a quick stab, the tips of the spear drove into the fish's back. The fishing spear could also be thrown like an ordinary spear at the fish and was then fitted with a line so that the speared fish could be pulled into the boat. The image shows spearfishing and a fisherman stands ready with his spear. In the candle iron, burns a fire. Photo: Hans Lidman. Image: Edsbyn museum. The image to the left shows an example of a fishing spear (Swe: ljuster) from1909. Image: Nordiska museet, ID: NM.0114189. Eels were usually caught in eel traps or eel cages (Swe: ålkista) built in streams and rivers. An eel cage is a fixed trap, designed to catch eels migrating downstream to the sea, and therefore often located at the outlet of streams from lakes. It consists of a short or long channel of water with a drop-down to the cage and a hatch to shut off the water during emptying. They could be made of boards but also of timber. The eel comes with the flowing water into the eel cage, from which the water ran away through holes, but the eel remained stagnant and could be picked up, for example, with fishing forks. The image shows an eel cage made of logs in Lönneberga, Småland. Image: Kalmar läns museum, ID: KLMF.Lönneberga00006. Anguilliformes are a class of bony fishes with numerous, predatory species in fresh and salt waters all over the world. They have very elongated bodies and soft-tipped fins. The eel found in Sweden is of the species European eel. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla), often referred to simply as eel, is an elongated ray-finned fish of the family Anguillidae. Unlike most other freshwater fish, it lacks pelvic fins, and the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins meet. The European eel is a catadromous fish that migrates from the freshwater habitats where it spends much of its life, out to the Sargasso Sea where reproduction takes place. The eel is a nocturnal omnivore. During the day in the freshwater habitat, the eel lies buried in the bottom sediments, but when darkness falls, the eel emerges. During the spawning season they have reached a length of about 100 cm, but can also be larger depending on living conditions and age. Males are significantly smaller than females. Since 1 May 2007, there has been a general ban on eel fishing in Sweden, except for some fishermen who have been granted an exemption. Eels are fished with bottom-set nets, pots, traps, or eel cages. Snaring pikes with a soft metal wire snare attached to a rod has also occurred. The pike has a habit of entering shallow water on sunny, calm summer days. Thereafter, it stands motionless for long periods, perhaps hours, or makes only slight movements with its tail and pectoral fins. They are then very lethargic and easy to snare. A pike snare is usually made of brass wire. Either the metal wire can be attached directly to the narrow end of a 3 to 4 meter long, reasonably straight, and stiff rod (the metal wire should be about 1 meter long) or the wire can be shorter and a piece of strong string is attached between the wire and the rod. However, to make the line easy to maneuver, the string should not be too long, the distance from the open snare to the rod should not be more than 1 meter. When a stationary pike is spotted, move with extreme caution to a suitable distance from the pike and ensure that the shadow of the rod does not fall over the fish, then carefully pass the snare over its head to a position just behind the gill cover, and then jerk it quickly. Particularly along river banks, a snare can be used to catch pike directly from the bank. In lakes, a light, flat-bottomed rowboat, which can be brought into very shallow water, is used instead. The Northern pike (Esox lucius) is a predatory fish that lives in fresh and brackish water. It is found in the northern hemisphere in Europe, Asia, and North America. In Sweden, the pike is common throughout the country. An adult pike has few natural enemies, but some birds of prey, such as ospreys, take pike. The pike is a predatory fish and thus eats other fish. Large females can weigh over 20 kg. Males are about 26-40 cm long and females 40-55 cm. It usually lives stationary close to the shore under the cover of vegetation and hunts by making rapid lunges toward its prey. Herring (Clupea harengus) (Swe: sill) is a species in the herring family. Herring is one of the most common species of fish. It is found in large schools on both sides of the Atlantic. It can grow up to 38 cm in length and reach a weight of more than half a kilo. Herring is a fatty fish and rich in beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids, among other things. Herring fishing has long been of great importance to the economies of many countries. This is due not only to the high abundance of herring but also to the fact that it occasionally gathers in very large shoals close to the coast and is then relatively easy to catch in large quantities. The salted herring was almost on everyone's menu for centuries and was, for example, one of the most important commercial products of the Hanseatic League. Herring fishing has been carried out using a variety of fishing methods, including drift nets or fixed nets set overnight, purse seines, and trawling and hauling. Traditionally, the name Baltic herring (Swe: strömming) has been used for herring caught in most of the Baltic Sea north of the southern part of Kalmar Sound, southeastern Sweden. Baltic herring differs from herring in having fewer vertebrae, a longer head, and a lower fat content. There are also genetic differences between herring and the Baltic herring. A herring from the North Sea has a relatively short head compared to a herring from the Baltic Sea. Catching Baltic herring can be said to have been the backbone of fisheries in the Baltic Sea. The most commonly used type of gear is the trawl (deep net, Swe: skötar). Originally made of flax, later of cotton, and nowadays of nylon yarn. For cleaning, fax/cotton nets were boiled in spring with soda and dyed with bark to prevent them from rotting and to make them less visible to the fish. Purse seine-haul fishing (Swe: notfiske), in which a seine is drawn towards the shore for herring, has been carried out both in open water and under the ice. Until the mid-19th century, the herring seine was the only reliable method of catching spring-spawning herring. The seine was a huge fishing tool and could be up to 200 meters long. The image shows seine-haul fishing in Kävelstocken, Strö parish, Västergötland in 1929. Photo: E. Hjorten 1929. Image: Västergötland museum, ID: 1M16-A5050. It is also common to fish for Baltic herring using a casting rod with a herring hook, a herring hackle, (Swe: strömmingshäckla). A herring hackle consists of a line with five hooks and a sink in the bottom. In Sweden, Baltic herring is best fished during May, or in the autumn between September and October. See also: The privileges of Gävle fishermen in the Baltic herring fishery along the Norrland coast In addition to the predominant herring fishery, cod fishing was carried out with "line" (i.e. hook fishing) in the outer archipelago. Cod (Gadus morhua) is a species of fish in the cod family found in the North Atlantic. Cod is one of the most important food fish and is of great economic importance in fisheries. It is often fished with trawls or nets.

Herring fishing in Bohuslän

There are four documented herring periods in Bohuslän on the Swedish west coast and these have occurred approximately once per century. A characteristic feature of the herring periods is that during the autumn and winter the herring penetrated deep into the archipelago and filled the Bohuslän fjords so that the water literally boiled even in the harbors. These periods were: 1. 1556–1589 2. 1660–1680 3. 1747–1809 4. 1877–1906 The herring period 1660-1680 was of minor economic importance, while the major period 1747-1809 would come to be known as "the great herring fishery" and "Bohuslän's Klondike". When the herring arrived in large quantities, people flocked to the coast, encouraged by the state, which offered not only free land and tax benefits but also free timber for housing, to attract labor. The huge supply of herring generated an industry around fishing. Large quantities of salt were needed to preserve the herring, and by 1780 there were around 300 salt works in Bohuslän. As more herring were caught than people could eat, train oil (whale oil) was extracted from the herring. The train oil was used as lighting oil, for paint, in tanneries, and for the production of liquid soap. Black smoke poured out of the train oil distilleries, smelling terrible. With the 20th century came the seasoning of herring and sprat and the herring canning industry became significant. Because herring entered the bays in such abundant quantities, fishing during the herring seasons was done with so-called shore seines (Swe: landvad). During the last major herring period, 1877-1906, fishing was also done with purse seines. The herring was then encircled by large nets that were tightened at the bottom. Then it was just a matter of scooping the herring into the boats.

The Flat-bottomed Rowboats

The flat-bottomed rowboat (Swe: flatbottnad eka), used until recently, was the type of boat most often used by fishermen. The rowboat may have come into use since the water saws made it possible to saw suitable boat boards. Strong tree roots were used for frames and carved into suitable shapes. The position of the oars, the oarlock, was made from a piece of a tree trunk with a rough, almost right-angled outgoing knot, positioned after the top of the boat side. Through a hole in the oarlock, the oars were inserted. The rowboat usually has a transverse stern and a falling stem. The image shows a Swedish flat-bottomed rowboat. Image: Wikipedia. These flat-bottomed rowboats are perfect for shallow lake waters, the rowboat could almost make it ashore on a smooth beach. Most, however, had a small keel so that they steered better when rowing. Flat-bottomed rowboats are mainly associated with lakes, but there are quite a few built for the coast as well. The flat-bottomed rowboats were mostly made of spruce, especially the rowboats of the lakes. Nowadays, flat-bottomed rowboats almost exclusively refer to a clinker-built boat with a transom or even with a transom at the bow.

Fishing rights in the past

Already in the Middle Ages, fishing on the coast and in the rivers was considered to belong to the Crown or the King. In the 16th century, King Gustav Vasa extended the Crown's right to include lake fishing, the tax revenue from which went to the Crown. In other words, it was not only the productive salmon fishing in the rivers that was taxed, but also the fishing in the lakes. More on this at: The privileges of Gävle fishermen in the Baltic herring fishery along the Norrland coast