Fisheries extension service

Fisheries Extension Service

(Frof'essional Education of Fishennen in Norway).

by

Sven S4me

Following an invitation by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, I lectured in _{February and March 1952} at the Latin-American Fisheries Training Centre in Valparaiso,

Chile on "Fisheries Extension Service".

As this term was alian to me, I asked the Rome office of the FAO for a satisfactory explanation, and received the following wire:

"By Fisheries Extension Service we mean professional education fishermen with emphasis greater utilization existing _scientfic knowledge

I do not feel qualified to give sudh a broad outline of fisheries extension service as was perhaps expected of me. Thus, in this paper as well as in my lectures at Valparaiso, I have limited myself to the description of the development and the present state

of Fisheries Exteision Services in Norway. This paper, therefore, should be considered an example of Fisheries Extension _Service in one country, and nothing more. It is practically identical

with my lectures at Valparaiso, only brought up to match the state of the services in the fall of _1953.

The curricula and schools for the practical and theoretical training of fishermen in Norway are in rapid development, being constantly revised and coordinated to match the practical _needs. By reading this paper, therefore, it should he borne in mind that alterations are constantly taking place, and my paper may become obsolete within a few years.

I am indebted to the following persons: Mr. _{.M. Gerhardsen, of} the FAO office, Rome, for valuable advice as to the arrangement of the lectures, dr. P.13. Osorio-Tafall, _{leader of the} Latin-American FisheriesT.Draining Centre, for patient daily guidance

and instruction during the curriculum, Mr. Ej,rn Mykle1cust, advisor on Fisheries Extension Service to the Director of Fisheries, Bergen, for reading and correcting the manuscript and supplying up-to-date material, and to the directors _{of the} State Fishery Schools at Laksevag,Aukra and Bod4 and the

District Fishery School at Kyrksaeter,ra , Messrs. Eivind Ottesen,

K. Aa. Nkleby, J/rgen Langen and J. Lyder G-rnbech for providing and permitting reproduction of most of the photographs finestra-ting this paper.

Oslo, November 1953.

Chapter 1. Introducti.on.

Development of fisheries an the need. of organized knowledge. When and form where men first came o the Scandinavian Pennsu1a is still a mystyveiled in the fog of ancient history. The known facts, however, indicate that the first settlements were all

along thecoast, and some habitations are as old as six or seven thousand years. We can still find garbage heaps outside caves

where the early settlers dwelt. In the soil of these heaps we find their weapons and their fishing tackles spearheads, arrowheads, harpoons, knives made from flint rock, and fishhooks made from bone. They lived from hunting and fishing. We find remains of the animais they killed, They were deer, seals porpoises, otters etc. and the fiehbones we find tell us that they caught cod, halibut, salmon and other fish and that, even three or four

thousand years ago, they must have had boats that could take them to the open seas, and fishing tackle that could be used in fairly deep water. These people were dependent on fish for their living, and they settled where fish were abundant and easìly accessible. As their boats and gear developed, they were able. to catch fish

in greater quantities and to search for fish on more faroff grounds. Before salt became known as a means of preserving food, the people could dry fish and thus preserve them in the seasons of abundance for use in the seasons of scarcity. At about the time when Columbus discovered Central America, Norwegian fishermen

had for centuries exported dried fish to Continental Europe. As salt became cheaper, fish were salted for inland consumption

and for export. Fish was one of the major export trades of Norway. The great Norwegian fisheries for spawning cod and herring had been established for centuries when in 1864 fishery research was

started in Norway by Georg Ossian Sars. His father, and others before him. had long since commenced. eploring the animaJs of the

sea. But fishery research was established when Sars in 1864 found

that the eggs of cod are pelagic9 ie floating in the sea

independent of' bottom and surface.

The fishermen of Norway, as of most countries, are very, very conservative. They oppose everything that is new and uniown. to them. When the first lighthouses were built in the beginning of the last century they were violent3-yopposed by the fishermen, who maintained that the flashes scared away the spawning herring

froa the coast.

When in the sixties and seventies of the last century the whaling in coastal waters was started with modern equipment, the fisheiïien

opposed the whaling too, because they said the herring were being chased to the coastal waters by the whales, and when the whales were scared away or captured, there was nothing to lead the herring to the coast.

When the motar was introduced in the fishing fleet in the last decade of the 19th century, it was equally opposed because the noise it made was thought to scare the fish away.

Finally, the evolution of the big seagoing trawlers was opposed, and trawling was long forbidden, because of the fear that the efficiency of these big ships would cause unemployment among the fishermen

All the modernizations I have mentioned have now been performed

-with theeeption that there is still

_{a prohfbition against traw]ing}

insìde our territorial waters. It is

_{possiJTLe Ithat the fisherman}

in Norwayis less conservative

_{than ho formely was. On}

_thing

is certain. He is

_{now oagerly employing in his task all the}

_modern

equipment he can 'uy. Larger vessels,lIger

_{engines, echo souners}

radio telephone, direction finders, automatic steering etc., and

he has found that educational

_{training is necessary.}

Even the fishermen's education had 1een met with some reluotane.

Our world famous fisheries scientist,

_{the late Johan Hjort, laid}

down a draft plan for

_{a fisheries school in 1914, but it s±ill}

lasted twenty five years till the

_{school was a reality.}

In 1940, after our first fishery school

_{had 1een well established,}

I became a member of a committee appointed

_{1y the "Fisheniien's}

Association o± Norway in order to plan

_{future fisheries schools.}

Our first school was then already in

_{operation with a ten months}

curriculum. One of the committee members, himself a f±sheiiian,

maintained that a ten month school

_{was superfluous, half that time}

would suffice. His grandfather had beon to school only for two

months all his life, and his father for

_{two years, and loth had}

done well as fishermen. He himself

_{had becn through the compulsory}

publi,c school of five

_{years and felt no need of further education.}

In spite of some reluctance,

_{our programme for establishing}

fisheries schools is now well under

_{way. Ve have now got four}

pexmnont fishery schools and

a fifth is being built. Besides,

there are: in Norway several short

_{curricula for the training of}

fishing vessel engineers, radio

_{operators, cooks and navigators.}

I siall return to the details latera The

_{young fishermen who have}

been through professional training appreciate their education and

would not have missed it.

The conservatism of the fisherinen is,I believe,

_{an international}

occurrence. It is well worth mentioning, and it should be

_{brn'ne ii}

mind, that every progress may meet with opposition. But when first

performed, the progress will be accepted and

_{appreciated, and will}

in the long run benefit the fishei'inon themselves and the fishery

industry as a whole

Also, the fishery research was met with mistrust and

even opposition.

To the fishermen it seemed rediculous that

men from a university,

who dIt not know how to handle

_{a net or to catch a fish and who}

were not brought up in a fishing vessel, could have something

_to

tell a fisherman, born and bred at

_{sea. The fishermen objected that}

you cannot catch fish with a thermometer or with a water sample,

nor with a bottom dredge designed to catch minute crustaceans and

molluscs, and you cannot learn to fish from

a book.

The scientists, or the other hand, knew they had facts to

_{tell the}

fishermen. It was the biologist, Dr. Johan Hjort

who made the

combustion engine known and accepted among the fishermen. It was

he who found that the little known deep sea prawn was distributed

in most Norwegian fjords in quantities, and who taught the

men how to catch them. It was the scientists who told the

fisher-men that the whales do not chase cod and herring to the coast, but

that the fish themselves seek the coastal banks in order to

spawn,

and that the whales only go with them and feed on them.

It was the biologists who taught the fishermen to catch plaice

with

a roundnet, and recently, it was the biologist Oscar Sund who

discovered that the echo sounder

_{can rogister fish schools, the}

biologists who found the same quality in the asdic

or sonar

-3

apparatur.When Norway three years ago had a new expensive

research vessel 1uil, peopis complained of the waste of money. When- the vesse] had. teen in operation for a month or two, it had located and reported fish schools, iha catch from which amounted to several times what the vessel had cost, Today, we are

constructing another, more expensive vessel.

The fishery industry today is a complicated Thusiness in European countries. The fishing vessels are large and expensive, the

fishing gear a great investment cf capital0 The processing, transportation, marketing, involve expensive plants, machinery, and other equipment, all founded on a sound 1asis of exact

knowledge. Tb-is knowledge must e brought to the fisherman and to the processor in order that the valuable material, the fish itself,

e utilized as efficiently as possible Knowledge must yield the living and the prosperity to the fisherman and the fish must be brought in a palatable condition and at a low cost to the consumer.

In order that fish be cheap, they must he available in great quantities and must be. caught with the smallest possible effort. The fisheinan must know where he can find the fish and at what seasons. Thus it is not sufficient that he know the chief fishing grounds, but he ought also to know why the fish gather there, if they go there in order to feed or to propagate. If they go there in order to propagate, their occurence will probably be limited to a short seasons If they go there in order to feed, it will be useful to the fisherman to know why food is plentiful there, and from such knowledge he may deduce that they may also gather in

other places where the pattern of ocean currents or the shape of the bottom are similar, In Norway, it appeared that prawns Were always found where a deep layer of soft mud covered the bottom. Such bot-tom gives a double or multiple echogramme. In recent years7 many excellent grounds for shrimp trawling have been found by

echo sounders only, but that is not all. Dr, Johan Hjort, who started the prawn trawling, deduced from the type of bottom that there ought to b prawns also in the Fundy Bay area of the United States, and he founded a large American industry because his

theory proved correct,

Nowadays it is in part possible to locate the spawning cod with a thermometer, because these fish spawn in the layer where deep, warfl, Atlantic water mixes with the cold coastal surface water.

The Atlantic water has0a temperature near 7°C and the coastal a

temperature of about 4 C. The cod will be found between -the temperatures of 4.5e _{to 60. The herring spawning grounds may e} likewise located, hut both species can be better located by means

of an echo sounder. At West Greenland or in the Baren Sea

fisher4-mn have used a thermometer to evade the cold layers of water where cod are no-t found.

Next, the fisherman must know the most efficient _{gear, and he must} be skilled to handle it properly. Fishing methods developed in

other countries may he -the right answer to catch his particular fish.

Then comes the type of vessel to be employed, its size, design, equipment, machinery, auxiliaries. The morenhe knows about other fisheries, -the more he will be able to select -the right type of vessel and decide what other fisheries it may be used for.

Once he has secured the right type of gear and boat, thus being enable to catch great quantities of fish with small effort, his problem will be to handle the fish so he can bring it in bests

oss±tILe shape to the market and obtain _{a good price for himself.} He must know vhai fish -bo bleed and wha- _{for, how to avoid pilinr} fish on top of each other, ihereby producing poor quality, and how to bring the empe.xau of _{he fish down so as to avoid a}

rapid decaying

Next, the fisherman is goThg io market his fish. He must learn how to keep an account so he _{can easily find out what fishing} pays and what does not, he musi learn how to buy his supplies and to plan theme

Before he goes out again, he must repair his tackle, _impregnate :it, see that it does not rot. He must look after his _{boat and} his engine, or better, he must have a reliable man to look after his engine and see that it gets proper attention _{so it can last} long and give reliable servicer

So when he goes out again, he must be a navigator so he knows not bnly where the fish are, but also how to find them and how to find his way back,

Prifliitive methods and lack of knowledge will keep the fisherman at the lowest level of existence It will also keep his product ai a poor level and render no possibility of gaining the reputation

it deserves as valuable protein food and a cheap nourishing article. No matter how skilled the technologist is, who takes

care of the next step of the fish towards comsumption, fish rendered him in poor quality will remain poor quality whatever processing it is designed for0 Foor fish will spoil the market and leave the fisherman in poverty.

Now I have spoken of the fisherman as the first important step in the way of the fish from the sea to the consumer. The next step is the technlogist. His job is to take care of the fish as delivered from the fisherman and to see that it comes to the customer in as fine quality as possible0

It is his job to see that the fish keeps fresh and is handled sanitarily if designed to be sold fresh. It is his job to salt it, dry it, freeze it, smoke it or oan it, if these processes be chosen0 He must know his fish and his market and know all the details about the processing In Norway, there has for several years been a school for fish processors.

As the fishing vessels increase ìn size, it is necessary to s.pecialise the crews In former days every man could do any job on board. Now it is different. Thus in an ordinary Norwegian fishing vessel it is necessary to have one man to do the cooking for all. the crew, and there are curricula at the fishery schools for their training. As the cruises sometimes last for months on

end, the cook must plan the food supply for the entire cruise and provide that the components contain the necessary food items as well as vitamins

Also, as engines are increasing in size, it has become necessary to train special fishing vessel engineers. There is not yet a

special fishery engineorts certificate but this will 'ce necessary very shortly.

In the chapters to follow I will try to draw a pture of he training as it is and as it is planned. First, however, it may be useful to seehow the fisheries have developed during the last.

century in Norway, next how this development led to the

-es±atlishing of systematica1 framing of fishermen, and finally how this training is executed.

Norway has . coast line of approximately 3400 kilometers excluding

he fjords. Some of the world's largest fisheries take place inside our territorial waters. The adjacent seas2 the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Arctic Ocean are among the richest known fishing grounds in he world.

The abundance of fish atraced people ±0 settle along the coast and made living possiJ1e for them. For centuries, the people

living at the coast have not only been fishermen. They have also been farmers and produced farming products for their living, but no_e sufficient tO make a living from in itself.

Vere early ±wo types of fisheries were developed:

a) The daily fishing near the fisherman's home and i) the seasonal fisheries on a larger scale more or less distant from home.

A century ago the combined rowing and sailing boat was the fishermants craft. Quite small rowing.1oats were used in the immediate vicinity of home. They wòuld mostly e 16 or 18 feet long and light enough to be easily handled by one or two men, but with a very limited range. Larger hoats for three or four pairs

of oars and with .'cha'ole mast and sail were used for the seasonal fisheries, and in these hoats fishermen used to travel along the coast to the seasonal fisheries, even distances ipwards

of 1000 kilometers or more. But they could not go further off

shore than withìn sight of the coast. And the boats had ho deck, no sleeping quarters for the men, except what primitive shelter they could improvise under a sail. For the long trips the. 'ooa'ts

would have a crew of four to six men, the owner of the boat who would '0e the chief or skipper, perhaps his sons and some hìred men.

Their fishing gear would he hand lines, lon lines and/or gillneis, all haine spun and home tied from hemp.

It was an important improvement when, in the latter half of the 19th entury, the larger hoats were provided with a deck., sleeping c1uarters and a hand winc.h for lifting the nets. But still the

boats were only provided with oars and sails for their propulsion. Even up to our days such boats have remained, 'out they are now

disappearing rapidly.

In the late nineties of the last century the' first combustion engines were installed in fishing vessels. The first motors were small and not very reliable, but they saved the fishermen hard work and iñcreased theiaoruverability of the vessels. They made it possible to handle heavier and more efficient sear like, the purseseine. The size of the vessels could be inceased and they could cover larger distances easily and cjuickly. The larger

vessels needed a larger crew, and thus, slowly, the fishing became no longer such strictly father - to - son business as it was formerly.

Vessels now having a deck, sleeping auarters for the crew, and an engine, they became less dependant of home, and they could go farther offshore, thus fishing the banks a hundred miles or so distant from the coast, and finding their way back by the compass. The fisherijien started exploring more faroff waters. The North Sea, the area between Scandinavia and Britain, so rich in fish, was within reach. Norwegian fishing boats forty or fifty years

-ago took part in the herring fisheries o±f Ice1and _{explored. the} fishing grounds of the Arctic Ocean between the Northern coast of the European mainland and the Arctic islands of Sttshergen,

Frantz Josef Land, Bear Island, Sealing expeditions to Greenland and New _{oundland reported fishing grounds there.}

Thue sailing so far franhome, it soon became necessary for the fishermen to know how to navigate by means of instruments. By lawNorwegian vessels of 25 tons or more must have at least one trained navigator. A _{coastal skipper" certificate authorizes} the h8lder to navigate vessels 25 to 200 tons in all waters North

o± 30 Northern latitude on fishing, sealing or whaling expeditions or coastal passenger vessels upwards of 100 tons. Foierly the fishing skippers, in order to ohtain this certificate, had to pss a test at a naval school. Already in 1902/1903 the

Directorate of Fisheries started arranging navigation curricula, but the participation was limited. Untill 1914 the average nuinher

o± students was about 40 per year. Only after World War I was the activity consIderably increased, the numher of students 1918/32 averaging about 240 per year. However, the Directorate of Fisheries is not authorized to issue certificates. Those who pass the final test ohtain their certificates frein the Ministry of Shipping. The ucoastal skipper certificate" is called the "second class

certificate.'

There is also a tfirst class certificate" for fishing, whaling

an sealing vessels up to 500 tons valid for all seas north of 30 N. lat., or passenger vessels in coastal traffic up to 300 tons. This was introduced with the navigation act of February 7., 1936. Courses for this test have not to my knowledge been

ambulat cry, but were arranged at. the naval schools and more

recently at the fishery schools. I shall return to the particulars of this training later.

Even with the larger vessels, the larger catches and the evolution of a fishing industry, the fisherman's income remained very low. There was an inland market for fresh fish mainly limited to the coastal districts and towns. There was a market for fresh iced fish in Britain and on the continent, for salted herring and kippers in Germany, Poland, Russia, Sweden and Britain. There were the canniera that could consuxie sprat, small herring, small mackerel etc., this industry being started in the 1870 es, and being based on export. And for dried fish there was a market in

Southern Europe, Africa and South America. But with the increasing amount of fish landed, the fishermen had difficulties in selling all their fish, and prices remained at a very low level. Even though at th.e great seasonal fisheries any one crew might land enoious quantities of fish, the participation frequently meant a direct loss to the fisherman, not even paying him sufficient for his living during the fishing season, and his family were

frequently wel1.nigh starving. The merchants at the fishery centers who bought the fish also supplied the fishermen with their outfit for the fishing, and the situation was in many parts of the

country that the merchant became the real owner of boat and gear, whilst the fishermen owed him for his living from one day to

another, hopelessly buried in debt. Only the very clever and 1uky fisherman could have a reasonable incomc

It thus became evident to the fishermen that in order to improve their income i-t became necessary for them to farm an organization which would enable them to control the market and organizo the

sale of their products. In 1926 the Norges Fiskarlag" was founded,

-7

the Norwegian

Fishermens Àssociation

To-day almost every other

fisherman is a inemer of the organization through his local

ranch

There are approximately 1100 local tranches, and 37 - 38000

mem-bers. According to the official statistics, there were in Norwayin

1948

85518 fishermen. Out o± these 16737 had fishing as their

only living. 51705 as their main source of' income and 17076 as

partial income.

By and 'oy the fishermen have formed their own sales organizations,

o± which there are siciaï associations icr various species o±

fish, and also a nurnber of district sales organizations. These

now control practically all puhie of fish and greatly influence

the fishery policy of the country

Por the export of fishery products there are the export

organizations, one for each group of productsNegotiations for

sale and all sale of products must be through one or the other

of these organizations.

The fishermen also have their own cooperative associations for

fisIery products, and their own presse

By the formation of all these bodies, the fishermen have impróved

their position socially and economically to a verr great extent.

Besides. there have since the war

been favoura'ole prices

cert.inly not only as a result of the organizations, but also

because there has been a better market for fish in recent years,

both inland and abroad. The fisherman is no more "only a fisherman'

He has got a social conscience, and is proud to be a fisherman.

Many fishermen of to-day are wealthy. They own their own vessels

and gear.

Compared to other trades, however, the averge fisherman's ináome

is still generally low and pove'ty still exists in some districts.

The state has done much in order to help the development and to

ease the conditions for the fishermen. All the fishery products

are under state control for quality. There are district inspeotors,

instructors for the formation of cooperative bodies, control

officers etc Several of the fishermen's enterprises are also

supported by federal laws and byelaws.

The quality of fish and fishery products has been improved to a

very high degree. The development of communications has made it

possible to send the fish to distant places in a short time. Also,

cooling, freezing, and other processing methods have made it

possible to send fish in a fresh state to distant districts.

Inland propaganda for the consumption of fish has added to the

sale, and the state also organizes demonstrations of the

prepara-tion of fish all over the country.

Fish is no luxury article in Norway. Most species are definitely

cheaper than meat, and as the quality has improved, fish has

gained reputation as a valuable food artitle. In some parts of

the country, for instance, it is a general belief that herring

gives phosphorous and other valuable chemicals and minerals for

the building up of the brain. In some inland districts of Norway

goitre is a common disease, but the number of strumoi's cases has

been reduced as fresh fish were made available in the inland

districts, the iodine of salt water fish being an efficient

medicine against goitre

Fisheries Extension Service has played a very important part in

the development of the fisheries and has made the rapid evolution

and the general improvement of the fisherman's economical state

possible.

-The state officers, each in his district, have worked towards the improvement of the conditions by directly encouraging the

fishermen to organize their associations, in helping the fisheiirien towards better handling of his fish, and in controlling the

products.

Through legislation the improvement of the handling of the fish and of the processing has öeen forced upon the fisherman. And he knows it is for his own good. Thus the legislation has supported, and been an indispensible link in the evolution o± the fisheries. The special training for navigators, processors, cooks, engineers, radio operators etc., which I will treat in detail in the chapters to come, are of more recent origin9 but has eventually become

indispensible. I consider this special training the main object of my paper, as this is a field I know from my own experience. In Norway there is at present the following training open to fishermen:

A. Fishery shools comprising the following lines:

Laksevg: Fishery skipper line, motor line, cooking line. Flor$: Fishery skipper line, cooking line.

Aukra: Fishery skipper line, motor line. Bode: Fishery skipper line.

Honningsvag: (under construction): Fishery skipper line, motor line, cooking line. B. One factory for teaching the processin.g and handling of fish. C. Shorter, ambulatory curricula comprising the following training:

Navigation (II class), duration 2 1/2 months.

Radio telephones, duration 2 weeks. (When combined with radio bearings 4 weeks.) Book-keeping (accounts).

Care of electric equipment on board fishing vessels. Echo sounders, duration ebt. one week.

Fish processing.

7 First aid.

The number of curricula and students is given in the following table for some of the branches

fishing vessels. No.of curri-cula, No.of stu-dents

No.of No.of No,of No.of

curri- Stu- nurri-

stu-cula. dents cula, dents

No.of curri-cul1a No.of No.o± stu- ourri-dents cuLLa. No,of stu-dents.

/t43

_{21 233}

₁₀

₁₃₅

₁₈

_{293 5 66 54}

₇₂₇

"49

14

186

8 103. 21 292 2 42 45 623

"50

10

₁₁₅

1

14

67

1001

3

30

81

1060

"51

7 94 1

12

42

675

50

781

"52

10

126

41

659

4

36

55

821

"53

6

84

1

16

₁₅

206

3

34

25

340

e ai' Navigation Book- Radio- Care of

lo

-Chapter 2. The Stato FishGries Schools. A. Th students,

In _{following soctions I ani going to treat in detail thQ}

state fisheries schools, _{as thoy cornpris iost o± thG branchos} taughi at courses and othGr schools. ...

But* first i-t is nccossa'y o say a fw words about the students themselves, wherc thoy couic from, what _{they are, what basic} knowledge is expected of bhem before entering the schools, and also the financial support given the _{students and the schools} from he state and other sources.

Practically all the students are young fishermen, aged 17-30 (or more), who have had fishing as their living since they were old enough to go with their fathers in the fishing boat. They have all boon through the public school, which is comPulsory for all children in Norway. Formerly the public school lasted for

five years, and the pupils enter the school at seven. Since 1889 the compulsory public schools have been altered to seven years, and the pupils are usually fourteen years old when they leave school. Thus all the students entering the fisheries schools have learnt to read and write, to add, subtract, multiply and divide. They have also, of course, during their seven years at the public school, learnt a good deal more. For instance, in the modern schools, one foreign language, usually English, is being taught for two years. But when they enter the fisheries _{schools, much of} their wisdom has been forgotten, because it is long since they left school, and the principal knowledge theypossess _{is the}

ability to read and write plus the fundamentals of matheinathics.

Some of the students, after they left the public schools, have been to "youth schools' to freshen up their half forgotten knowledge, but they are not many. And very few have been to a

college.

The students all come from fishermen's homes. Some are poor, some well off, but they are all given the same facilities in the schools

Free trevel to and from the school, free teaching and free living while at school. They lodge at school, and have their meals there, but they must keep their own bedclothes and books. The school at Laksevag and the fish processing plant ar Vard also keep bed-clothes. At the state fishery schools all expenses mentioned are granted by the state, but at the other schools and curricula this is different and expenses are generally shared between the state and the county council. Also the fishermen's associations contribute to some of the curricula.

The training at the stato fishery schools is a very hard one. During the lo month's duration of the fishery skipper curriculum, the students must concentrate on their work incessantly, and there is very little time left over for pleasure. But there are very few students who do not stand up to the strain. During the five years I conducted the first of the schools., there used to be one student every year who did not complete, one out of forty. The main reason why most of the students complete is that only the most ambitious young fishermen seek to the school.

The lecturing at the skipper curriculum comprises 15 theoretical plus five practical branches. Quite naturally, because they are not used to indoor life, to books, to reading and writing, the

students in the beginning find the ainont of work ahead of them overwhelming.

--

il

overwhelming. Etft as the course proceeds, they quickly overcome

that fooling, and it is surprising to see what quantity of knowledge

they

an digest. The standard for bhe final tests is very high,

ut nevertheless most o±

he pupils end up very close to

he

es±

±estimony available. I thinlç thero is a reasonable explanation f o

this. The normaldaily work of the fisherman does not c3l on

hard brain works The fishe'man uses his hands and his muscles.

His body is strong and healthy, and a vast part of the capacity

of his lrain is not used in his daily task. Also, the branches

augh

have close conucc±ion

±0

his daily work, they are his own

branch seen from a different angle, and they catch his inerest

-to

the full.

In the 1egixming ho is stimned for a while, therefore The teaching

must proceed with care and be as elementary as possible to start

with, The curriculum begins on Sept. ist., and only after two

months or so is the student trained tu use his brain to its full

capacity. Towards the end of the course it is surprising to the

teachers to see what quantities of wisdom the trainee cen consume

and digest. His memory is extremely good, far exceeding what one

will find in an average intellectual person. In the beginning, when

we had no textbooks, or very few, I experienced more than once

during a lecture, that a student related word

by word what I hed

said months ago, and asked how that would fit with what I was

saying now. Indeed, one had to word one's lectures precisely and

correctly. Any error would be revealed by a bright student.

It was a great pleasure, añd once it got running, an easy task to

teach so willing and so interested students.

One thing, which I think is of great importance to consider

as

regards the Norwegian fisherman, ìs that his father and forefathers

have been fishermen for centuries

He himself has been living near

the sea, and has been on board his father's boat since he was old

enough to talk. He knows every detail of the vessel, its engine

and the fishing gear before he is old enough to

go to sea fishing

with his father. You shodld see a boy of 13 stear

a 60 foot vessel,

handle thb loo horsepower engine and berth the ship at the pier.

It is in his blood, and. this tradition through many generations is

certainly

valuable to the young fisheririan when he starts his

training at the fisheries school.

I believe this in part explains why and how the enormous training

programme of tha fisheries schools can be perfoLiaed in only ten

months. I do not believe that the individual intelligence in the

Norwegian fisherman ìs above the average in any one nation. But,

as I said, the trainees are ìn a way selected as they are the most

ambitious among the fishermen.

B. The programme of the state fishery schools.

There are three main branches:

The fishery skipper branch leading to a first class coastal

skipper test and a test in fisheries, The course lastst for

ten months.

The motor branch leading to a motor caretaker's test. The

curriculum lasts for five months and there are 2 courses, one

in the. autumn and one in the spring.

The cooking branch leading to a cooking test. Lasts for five

months, two courses (autumn and spring.)

There is a slight difference in the oondiUons for 'ceing

accepted as a studont a the hrec 'cranches For all 'crachs

is claimed:

A lostimony for completion of he pu'alic school.

A testimony of character from sherriff _{or parson or other} official.

Health oertificato stating that the trainee is not suffering from any contagious disease.

For the skipper 'cranch is also claimed a testimony that the trainee has been employed on a decked vessel and taken part in fishing

for at least 24 months after the age of 15, and a doctor's certifi-cate for hearing and sight. The trainee must not 'ce colour lalind, i.e. he must 'ce a'cle to distinguish coloured signals, maps, flags,. sea marks and lanterns.

For the motor branch a testimony for 24 months on a decked vessel after the age of 15 is also claimed and it should he stated that he has some training in the handling of motors. But workshop trai-ning is not necessary.

For the cooking branch a testimony for at least 12 months at sea. Some practice from the galley is necessary, end he must 'ce at least 17 years old on entering the school.

The. stata fishery schools are owned and run entirely by the state along the lines I have already mentioned The schools are well equipped with modern instruments and other outfit for teaching. Some smaller 'coats and fishing gear belong to the schools and

may 'ce used by the pupils, and every school has a technical library open to the students. The 'cooks and other material that the pupils themselves must buy will for the coastal skipper branch cost approx, 50 U.S. dollars (N.Kr. 3500-)9 for the motor line approx. 18 U.S. dollärs (N.kr. 125.-) and for the cooking line 7 dollar (N.kr.50.-) All training is compulsory for the students. Absence from the

classes can only 'ce granted by the principal of the school. The students are under close medical control. As a rule, there is a thorough medical examination once a year.

The students form a student'.s association and generally meet once a week or once a fortnight. One of the most important tasks of the student's association is to train them in association activities and make them acquainted with appearing in public. Sometimes they take up theme.s of general interest for discussion and thus ò'ctain some training in expressing their personal views. But mostly the meetings are devoted for pleasure. Frequently young

boys and girls from the neighbourhood join the meetings for mutual pleasure and sometimes dancing.

ihe association is constituted by the students who among themsel-ves elect a chairman, a secretary, council members, groups for certain purposes etc. These posts are re-elected. every other

meeting in order that every:ne may have a chance of fulfulling the different tasks.

The progreme of the fishery skipper line is as follows:

a. To supply and add to the knowledge the students possess from their own experience in the fisheries.

- 13

-To make the students acquainted with others fisheries where they have rio previous experience, with other fishing grounds and future possibilities, thus enabling them to readjust or increase their activities.

To teach the students the basic natural history of the

fisheries so that they better can understand the future possi-bilities of the industry and so that their opinion, in private or in public, be based on

fact,

To give the students a thorough knowledge of navigation and the function and care of motors.

Tb give the students more elementary knowledge than obtained through the public school.

The following branches are taught:

Elementary: Norwegian reading and writing, mathematics, bookkeeping, natural history, English, care of health, sociology. Navigation: Terrestrial and. astronomical navigation, meteorology,

care of motors, seamanship, signaling, radiotelephone operation.

Fishery branches:Practical fishery and fishing gear, fishery biology, oceanography.

As far as possible demonstrations are employed to support the teaching.

All students have an opportunity to pass the test for radio telephone certificate.

The students are also taught the use and care of echo sounders, radio direction finding, and some other electronic methods of navigation.

The final test or exam on the skipper line comprises two main branches: a) ist class coastal skipper test and b) a fisheries branch test.

At the fisheries branch test there are three written theses:

One in practical fishing and fishing gear, one in fishery biology and one in oceanography. Furthermore, there are three

correspon-ding oral tests.

The curriculum starts on Septeinher ist and ends about July ist. The programme of the motor line is as follows:

The students are taught to know and to run fishing vessel engines. As fishing boats also have electric equipment, the students are taught electricity and to take care of the electric, outfit on board. There is however yet no certificate obtainable in connec.

tion with the final test.

The following branches are taught at the motor line:

Elementary: Norwegian reading and writing, mathematics and natural history.

Theoretical branbes: Motors, electricity, materials.

2ractioal branches: Metal work, motors, electricity, engine drawings.

--

14

-Ve11 over haLt' the time is utilized for training in the workshop

and practical work.

Thera is a final test a) for practical work, b) for drawings, and

e) for theory.

The curricula start on the ist of August and

on the 10th of

January (at Lakeevag Sept. ist and. February ist) and last for

five months,

The purpose of the Cooking line is to train cooks for the fishing

fleet. The test at the end of the course gives no special right

nor a certificate.

The practical training is the most important. Sorne theory is

taught, however Norwegian reading and writing, mathematics,

bookkeeping, food composition and sanitation. The cooking students

prepare all the food for the rest of the school, whilst paid

assistance is provided for the.cLeaxiing. There isa testat.the

end o± each cu1'±

±ñi.Tie

Februar 91ranìst':: f

ifivenIbmthow IjsiaM

r[o:sd [o i

34 lectures

30 lectures

ii p -48

16

32.

32

32

16

16

37 lectures

40 lectui'es

1252

The fisheries eam takes place about the end of Aprii

The rest of the time till the end of the course is used for the

preparation for the ist class coastal skipper exam.

-

Thus

The teaching at

of lectures p

.raneh

variati ons f r-ôm

Ooeanography

Fishery biology

Botany

Zoology

Praqtical fishery

Navigation

Norwegian

Mathematics

Physics

Chemistry

English

Electricity

the state

in

òneThchool

Autumn

2 lectures

3 ii It II

i

_II 4 It

10

r' 4 i' 4 II

i

_If

i

_'I 2 II

1.

fishery schools

approximately

to another):

(16 weeks)

per week

it it 'I. it it i'. ti it It it ii ii it it it

is

the

Spring

3

i

i

3 8 4 3

J-i

2

i

2 lectures

did in number

following way (slight.

(16 weeks)

Total,

per week

64 ii it II 95 il ii

₃₂

't

₃₂

il 'i

₁₁₂

it. i, _'.285 ii i, ti

₁₂₈

I' ii. it

₁₁₂

t' 'I ti

₃₂

ii. t,, it 32 'i It II 64 ii il

₃₂

bookkeeping

3

Statistics

i

Engines

2

Afternoons.

Metal work

1

Ii

Fishing gear

1

H

Seaman work

i

ti H H

Signaling

.

Seamanship.

.LJLJL rqi. -

-- 15

-Thus, from the beginning of May Ui the en of June the weekly time ta'cie is approximateiy.as follows:

Navigation 22 hrs. Signaling 4 Meteorology 4 t Sociology 2 Seamanship 2 Internati onal seafaring rules 2 Health & sanitation i

37 hrs,

In addition to the regular classes, the skipper schools are

freciuentiy visited by special branch experts who in the regular hours or at evening meetings lecture on matters coimected with

fisheries. The students also visit fish processing plants, facto-ries for fishing gear, ship wharves etc,, and they are given some training in hired vessels in practical fishing. For instance, at

the Aukra school in

1949 - 50

the students were trained during short cruises in the use of other trawl and pair trawl, round net fishing, net fishing for winter herring and cod. Traps for cod,

cra'3s and lobsters were used daily at the school. The establish-ment was visited by naval and other vessels that demonstrated modern navigation, radar, gyrocompass, automatical steering, remote control etc. The students visited cold store plants, crie pearl essenc.e plant, one factory for fishing gear, and a ship wharf where they inspected a new sealing, vessel, a new purse seiner and several other craft.

Visitors delivered lectures on various themes, ±.i. about the

Norwegian stock of salmon, salmon in Alaska, oceanography, Norwegian interests in the Antarctic, the quality of fishery products, sociology, cooperative enterprise, on farming and

fishing and on the abstention from alcohol.

It must be mentioned that the training at the different fisheries schools has not been absolutely identical. When the first school was established in 1939, there were no textbooks for the fisheries

part. The war years slowed up the programme for the text books. Thus,even though the general programme was well laid out for ali schools, there was ample room for variety, depending on the

personal opinion of the teacher. With the navigation part this was different, because the training for the ist class 'coastal skipper certificate had been well established during a dozen years since the Navigation Act of 1936 appeared. Textbooks for navigation were at hand, and the navigation curricula have thus been practieally identical at all schools. Only as regards new devices for naviga-tion, such as echo sounders, radio telephone, radio direction finding, electric ecjuipment., etc., there has been some variation from one school to another, because these items were not considerod in the 1936 act.

Textbooks for the fisheries part of the schools are flow bein isti

in rapid succession, and the curricula are becoming more identi l

at all schools. The final written text has been the same at all schools in recent years, and the minor difference in the teaching itself have been unimportant.

An officially appointed committee is at present considering revisal of the traini.ng for fishermen, including the navigation.

-No rwe gi an

Practical fisheries Fishery biology Zoology and botany Oceanography

Physics with electri-îity and chemistry Book keeping

Radio teie oning

Sociology, 000peration

Stat ist les

Metal work

Tackle and gear work Electical fit-up Echo sounders and other instruments n-9.. 9 C 60 60 60 n 50 20 J5 r L_0 U 60

15

U -ic: n L -)

Another committee is considering changes in the navigation a't The following normal schedule hs: iDeen

_{su:csted for he first}

class coastal skipper courí»o:

Mathema-bjc$ etc _{93 hrs}

Navigation ₄₀₀

International seafarinr

rules ₄₀ '

Meteorology

Norwegian and English

Engines (motor)

Maritime 1 s

Seamanship 2.

Signaling

Health and sanitation ₂₃ u

Total 325 hrs

Accordingly, it is probable that the additional training at the fishery skipper lino v'i1l have to be adjusted as follows:

Mathematics _{15 hrs (in additien to the navigation} act standard).

Total 670 hr

It has been suggested that a speciol fishery kipper certificate be introduced, more privileged than the ist class coastal shipper certificate. but this has been opposed and is

prsen

oeing debated. The final result cennot be fcreto1d

Chapter 3 Details of ih training at the fishery schools0 A. The fishery nkippar c Trioulum

The skipper curriculum. laeting as p-ovicusly oxp1ained for ten months, consists of a ilshriee part and a navigation parir,

1. The fisheries part takeT roughly ene half cf ho available time during tne ±iï eigh; ieoaJ:e. ai the end cf vhicui the part is brought to conclucion. the first fisheries school v:as established in i939 it aP:2r,red that the stude came to the school for one special purpcc to get their lot 1aos coasini skipper certificator The cihea branches were unknown to them:id they even opposed some of them in the beginning. But it esce. became evident -to them that fishery biology; practical f ish.ng

oceanography, natural histor eic wore 1sc useful branches and

'7

aer some years we experienced. a rapidly increasing inerest for them.

Fishery io1og. The students are taught the anatorny and.

hysio1ogy of :ishes their age and growith, their migrations for feeding and spawning, their food, their requirements as to

temierature and salinity and their general distritution. The variation in the occurrence of fishis emphasized, and the

over-fishing problem is treated for each inportant species of fish and for important fishing areas. The methods for fishery research are included. in this 1ranch. To this branch also belongs knowledge

of what happens to the fish after death, f.i, autolysis and

bacterial decay, and what can be done to slow up these precesses. Practical fishing comprises the abundance of fish in various

areas and depths, near and distant fishing grounds, often vary detailed. The methods for catching fish and the gear employed belong in this branch, and. also the handling of fish on board the vessel till it is delivered for further processing. Markets,

export and legislation are also included,

Oceanography. The size and extension of the seas, topography of the bottom, depths, banks, sediments, ocean currents, temperature and. salinity in connection with the fisheries and with navigation

etc.

Physics: The elements of physics approximately as taught in the colleges, but adjusted.to the special requirement of the fisherman (function of the motor, laws of electricity etc.),

Chemistry: The processing of oxydation and reduction. The

chemistry of the combustion engine, the danger of poisoning by carbonmonoxide. Acids, bases, salts, metals, adjusted to the practical recjuirement of the fisherman.

Botany: The botany of the ocean, assimilation, dissimilation. The production chain of the oceans.

Zoology: Animals life, in the sea, propagation, the cycle of production and consumption.

The lecturing in botany and zoology is supported by demonstratiois Plankton netting, bottom dredging, the use of the microscope etc. Norwegian: It is very important that the students learn to read and write their native tongue easily and. fluently. Grammar and some literary history are included in the lecturing.

English: The students are expected to be fishing also in remote areas. iey will meet foreign seafaring people, buy their

supplies and sell their products in foreign countries, and they must be able to give or obey steering orders and instructions in

English. Thus the English lectures teach them ordninary words and expressions, some grammar, naval expressions, names of fish,

fishery products and supplies expressions, abbreviations etc. used in British naval books and charts.

Statistics: The construction and interpretation of tables and graphs,

wift.

examples from population and fishery statistics. Bookkeeping: The keeping of double accounts. The students must hahle to keep an account for their expeditions and to produce an armual balance sheet. They are taught about checks, obligations contracts, calculation of rents etc.

- Engine

Engine theory: The compulsory programme for the 1s class coastal skipper cartificate,

Practical tranches: Ihe students are taüght to handle and work with metals, to ianregnate and repair their fishing gear, to

splice, make knots etc1 The handling of rescuing apparatuses etc. and practical signaling, morsing, signal flags7 semaphore.

2. The navigation part at the fisheries schools was originally

planned as a 2nd class coastal skipper course alongside the fisheries part, to 'ce terminated with a 2nd class test at the end of 8 months when the test in the fisheries branch also took place. The remaining

two (or 1 1/2) months of the curriculum were meant for those who wanted a 1st class certificate and were reserved for navigation branches only0

Right from the start of the first school it became apparent that very few, if any, of the students wanted to leave the school with a 2nd class test only. Such test was practically never held, all students continued up to the ist class test.

Thus the teaching of navigation at the fishery schools aims from the very beginning towards a ist class test.

From practical reasons, and in order to avoid unnecessary repetition I have chosen to describe in this chapter the demands set up for each of the two courses separately.

The 2nd class coastal skipper curricula comprise the following branches:

I, Navigation,

Mathematics. The four- elementary branches of mathematics with figures and letters. (Algehra). Fractions and decimals,

Proportions and relations

Ordinary geometry: the point, the straight line7 the pl.ane angles, paralleli lines.

Simple constructional drawings.

The axioms concerning the angles in a triangle. ierrestrio3 Navigation.

he shape of the Earth Latitude and longitude.

The nautical mile. Speed and distances.

The use of Mercator naps. Detai1 o± maps0

The Norwegian syst.m for sailing marks.

Hypothetical journeys on North Sea maps and Norw. coastal maps.

Astronomical navigatioG

Dfl the movements of the celestial bodies,

On time measuring, true time, middle time etc. and the connec-ti6n between longitude and time. Observations on latitude by means of the sun.

Instruments..:

The cbmpass. Magnetism. Curves for deviation and deviation tables,

The lo.gs. principles for measuring'speed. Sounding apparatus.

The pelorus3

The octant and the sextant,

- 19

-5. International navigation rules. II. Seamanship.

Life saving 'cy means of rockets and linethrowing apparatus. Oil to calm the seas,,

Manoeuvring of open bòats through surfe

The construction and use of drift anchor for smaller craft. The 1st class coastal skipper curricula are considerably more thorough,

I. Navigation.

The mathematical teaching is considerably wider.

The terrestrial navigation also includes the rules for keeping Iogbooks and the interpretation and use of British Adinirality charts.

3, Astronomical navigation.

Detailed training in the determination and calculation of posi-tion, sailing, direction. OEbservations of tide by British

tables etc,

4. Instruimeits.

More about the compass, the magnetism of the ship, the variations in magnetism and deviation.

Determination of the site on board for the compass and its correction.

Pelorus detailed use. More abcut logs.

More about sounding apparatuses (Thomson's glass tube, Wigzells and other constructions.)

Octant and Sextant. More detailed use and determination of index failures.

The chronometer. Its construction, use, care, place, Comparison with the watch. Time signals.

5, International navigation rules. Detailed knowledge; 6. Meteorology. On the barometer and thermometer.

On athmospheric pressure, the laws for cyclones and themost important wind systems.

The Norwegian weather forecasts II. Seamanship and engines etc.

Life saving. The use of oil.

Drift ancho's also for larger vessels.

Thé manoeuvring of vessels under various conditions.

The state control of cargoes, especially for smaller vessels. The signal flags Practicing in sending and receiving signals. The morse system. Practicing signals with a morse lamp.

The construction and function of the steam engine. The principles for the combustion engines and their construction.

III,Norwegian and English.

Practise in the correct reading and writing of Norwegian and a sensible relating of what has been read.

Grammar

Tllritten theses with marine contents.

English, sufficient to enable the students to interpret the

details o± British Admiralty Charts, to use British light

house lists, tide ta'bles, nautical almanacs and to understand British s±eering orders.

Some grammar and correct pronounciation are included. Iv. Health

First aid, especially wounds and burns. Coimon diseases.

Sexual hygiene. Venereal diseases. The effects of alcohol.

I have treated the fishery schools in such detail, because for _one thing theyare the basic schools for the training of young fisher-men in Norway, and also because the ability of the fisheinan to navigate his vessel to offshore and distant fishing grounds is

essential in he production of fish. Adminìsrati on.

Tbedaily administration of the state fishery schools is conducted by the principal (aided by a secretary). Matters concerning the students and the lecturing are treated by a council of teachers, headed by the principal.

Important matters such as budgets, statements of finance, improve-ments, engagement of new personnel, expelling of unsatisfactory students etc. are treated by a hoard of three members. The County Magistrate is always the òhairman of the board. There are two

other members, one appointed by the Director of Fisheries, one by the Norwegian Fishermen's Association. The principal of the school acts as secretary to the hoard.

All state fishery schools and curricula are uunder the Directorate of Fisheries, which is again under the Ministry of Fisheries.

Teachers.

The personnol at the fisheries schools varies from one school to another. The principal of the school may be a fishery biologist or a navigator. At the four existing permanent fisheries schools in Norway, three of the principals are navigators, one i a

biologist.

It is necessary to have two teachers in navigation (possibly even three, if one is the principal), because the class has to be separated in two, A and E. 40 students cannot work simultaneously under one teacher with navigation. Accordingly, the legal limit has been set at a maximun of 20 students per class. One of the navigators ordinarily lectures on practical fisheries as well.

The biologists teach fishery biology, zoology, botany, oceanography, physics, chemistry. The other branches, mathematics, Norwegian,

English etc are shared between the teachers according to ualifi-cations. For the practical work with motors, metalsand engine

theory, there must be a trained engineer as teacher. Medical care is generally taught by the local doctor. Also, it is desirable that the school is not situated in a remote place,as it ought to be possible to find lectures outside the school for special

branches,

For cooking there is a special teacher.

The nunbe of teachers at the various schools and the correspon-ding capaity for students at the three lines will appear from table:

Fisheries curr.

T otal

- 21

-Schois: Áura-

BodFIOr

Laksevag Honnings-vag.

Thac.hers.:.

ÌTavigation 2 1 1 1 1

Navigator and teacher

of fisheries 1 1 1 1 1

Biologists (University

degree) 1 2 1 1 1

Philologists

i...

.-Teacher with students

degree - - - - i

Engineers (motor

teachers)

- ....1

1

Teachers in cookery - - 1 1 i

Capacity, students per year

Fishery skippers 30 36 20 20 40

Motor caretakers 24 . - 20 20

Cooks - - 20 20 20

- ist class Coastal skipper certificates in Norway in recent years.

According to the navigation act of 1906 (altered 1911), there was only one coastal skipper certificate till the act was revised 1936. This certificate was for vessels upwards of 200 tons.

In five year periods the following nunter of students passed the

test:

1921-25 altogether 595 or per year 119

1926-30 H 874 " ₁₇₅

1931-35 767 « 153

1936 241 241

After 1936 the following num1er of students have passed the tests lete class coastal skippers 2nd class coastal skippers

Schools or Whole . . . Whole

Years curricula period per year per cent period per gear per cent 1936/ Naval. 140 _{schools 186 55 87 566 113 29} Fisheries curr. _33. 8 _{13 1368} 274 71 Total 219 63 . 100 1934 387 100 1941/ Naval f45 _{schools 735 147 81} 1588 318 33 174 35 19 3286 657 67 909 182 100 4874 975 100

ist class coastal skippers 2nd class coastal skippers

Schools or Whole Whole

Years curricula period per year per cent period per year per cen 1946/ Naval '50 schools 321 64 46 501 100 32 Fisheries curr.

₃₇₁

_{74 54}

₁₀₅₉

212 68 Total

₆₉₂

₁₃₈

100

1560

312

100

1951/ Naval

'52

schools

128

64 42

156

₇₈ 42 Fisheries curr.

₁₇₄

₈₇ 58

220

nO

58 To tal (two years)

302

151

100

376

188 100

B. The motor line,

In the development oi fisheries in Norway, motor power and speed have become important factors.

30

years ago a ±'isheiiian would be content to have a 20 HP engine in his 35/40 ft. vessel. That

would give him sufficient power to handle his gear by transmission from engine to winches, and for a speed of five to six knots,

But in hard weather and headwind, he would make slow progress or none at all. And bad weather is frequent in Norway.

Also, in moving from one fish bank to another, or to port with a valuable fish load, time is significant. In some of the Norwegie fisheries there is crowding on the fishing grounds, and all

fishing vessels start from port on a given signal at a certain hour in the morning. In such cases, there is a race between the vessels to the best fishing grounds, and the speedy orft will be

superior. This, however, is a matter of prestige more than of practical importance. Commercial fishing on holidays is forbidden

in Norway. The vessels stay in port till midnight on Sunday and then go to sea. Again, speed is important.

The necessity for more speed must be considered in connection witI the technical development in generai. A powerful engine makes the fisherman less dependant of bad weather and will above all

contribute to bring the cargo of fresh fish to port in a minimum of time. This increases time for fishing and reduces time for transport, also contributing to the delivery of fish in good quality. A 40 ft. vessel nowadays may well have an engine o± 60 HP. As I have mentioned before, lso the size of the vessels has

increased. For the bank fishing, which takes place 30 to 120

distance minuts (geographical miles) off the coast, modern vesselE range between 45 and 90 feet in length, and the engine power from 40 HF. upwards. Similar vessels also exploit the areas around the Facroes and between these islands and Iceland. Trawlers, deck-purses,einers and round-netters also need strong engines for the handling of their heavy gear. Sealers need power in tackling

drift-ice, small-whalers need it for speed during operation. For diesel engines of more than lOO HP and semidiesels 125 EP or more, an engineering certificate is claimed.

For large engines, say 50 HP or more, a proper use of the engine is important for its lifetime. It does not pay

economically

to

run the engine full speed

always.

Thus a fisherman would have

-- 23

an engine al' 60 HP and. in his dayly work use it at 40/50 EP. Only

in an emergency would he run it to is full capacity. This will make his engine last much longer.

IrrespecUve of horse powers, ±t is of the utmost importance for the engine to be handled properly arid. 1y an experienced man, who knows how to look after it and to care for it.

Every Norwegian fisherman knows abut motors. Before he is old

enough to turn the flywheel, he knows its construction, the

various paits, the points to be oiled and greased etc. In the

smaller vessels every man can run the engine. Every man knows what is.the.matter when it stops water in the fuel, dirty injector,

troulewith the regulator etc.

Only the. very small open boats use gasoline ignition engines of

one or two cylinders, HP 3 to 12 or 20. Almost all engines in the fishing fleet, however small the craft, use twostroke semidiesels

or, in recent years, diesels. Up to 60 HP, one cylinder is the ordinary, for twostroke engines, for larger engines two or three cylinders. Norway has an extenive fishery motor industry which produces motors for the whole fishing fleet, During the last 10 - 15 years, also small fourstroke diesel,engines have been manufactured by Norwegian motor factories, even as small as 5 - 7 HP. These are sturdy little engines, very cheap to run because they have a low oil consumption, are easy to handle, and. need very little attention. For the fishery school I bought a 5 - 7 HP Diesel motor in l942 Still, in 1951, it was running smoothly, had

an overhaul or two., hut no general repair, and it is used almost daily.

The diesel engines are usually started by means of a cigarette or an electrio coil. The ordinary engines in the fishing fleet, haire

a cylinder head heated by a blow lamp a few minutes before start. Smaller engines than 20 HP are started by hand, larger engines by compressed air or compressed exhaust, the batteries being loaded frein the engine cylinder during their work.

The wdliary engines in their simplest form are the transmissions

to the winch and anchor windlass and the dynamo for the electric supply on board. Larger fishing vessels have a more complicated outfit: Auxiliary engines for electricity, cooling, echo sounders, radio telephone, a complicated reversing gear, a hydraulic system f or winch and windlass, and often remote control and start for the engine.

It has thus become necessary for the fishing vessels, not only to leave, the engines in the hands of one experienced man, but to give that man a special training. This is the background for the motor line. Actually, there are today many engines larger than 100/125 HF managed by engineers without a certificate, as it has proved necessary to dispense with the law in a number of cases. There

is a groat demand for engineers in the fishing fleet, and there ought to be a special fishery motor certificate. A new law

considering this is pending.

There aro in Norway about 33.000 registered fishing craft (1948). The number of decked fishing vessels is 12.250 (July ist 1953), 494 of these had engines 100-200 HF, and 285 engines of more than 200 HP. The following table gives the number of vessels within each group of engins power:

-Size group H0. - 10 10-14 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64

175/ 225/ 275/ Size group HP 65-84 85-104 105-124 125-174 224 274 324

No.of. craft ₁₇₅ 161 91 74 40 32 27

Size group HP 325-424 425 and more Unspecified lofai

No. of craft 33 17 22 ₁₀₉₀₂

The cjualificafions claimed of flic engineers in the merchant navy are so comprehensive that fishermen do not feel if necessary to take such e1aorate tests as claimed by 3rd class merchant navy.

In addition to the theoretical training, three years apprenticeship is also claimed for this engineering test. And, now, having four permanent curricula for motor traii4ng in the fisheries 1ranch,

it is possible to pass 88 trainees every year (another 20 will be added to this figure when the school at Honningsvag is operating.) With three years of apprenticeship this would mean that the motor industry at any one time would have to employ 240 apprentices, which is above the capacity of the industry if the training should be satisfactory. On the other hand, the government officials for the training of engineers maintain that the qualifications claimed

of a third class engineer in the merchant navy are so low that they cannot be lowered for a certified engineer. This is the problem for the engineers in the fishing fleet.

The problems has been considered recently by a committee revising the regulations for education for the merchant navy. A certificate has been suggested for mOtor caretakers, authorising them to

responsibility both for diesel and other motors upwards of 200 HP. According to this proposal, the trainee should have a joint experience of 36 months at sea and in a workshop (at least 12 months in the workshop and at least 18 months at sea) plus 2.90

hours of theory.

The Directorate of Fisheries has found this training too comprehen-sive for engineers in the fisheries, and has suggested to the

Ministry of Fisheries that the motor curricula at the State Fishery Schools should be extended to last for 10 months. The curricula should give the necessary theoretical edcation, and the rest of the curriculum should be used for practical work in the school workshop. This work should make up for the necessary workshop training. The testimony from such curricula ought to give the trainee the following rights:

To serve as 2nd fishery engineer in a fish vessel with main encino upwards of 500 indo HP.

To servo as 1st fishery engineer or single engineer in a fishing vessel with main engine upwards o± 200 md. HP.

C.-Aftor having served for 24 months in. a service claiming a certificate as above, tiacroof at least 12 months in service

a under b) the tramée should be entitled to serve as 1st

engineer or singlo engineer in a fishing vessel with engine upwards of 300 md, H.P.

However, the motor training in the state fisheries curricula is proceeding without waiting for the laws to be altered on this

- point