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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Cod bounty along the coast

Norway’s fishing industry is reporting more cod than ever in the waters along the coast, all the way from Møre in the west to Øst-Finnmark in the far north. Some fishing boats have already caught their quotas of skrei, the cod that swims into Norwegian waters to spawn.

Cod at a park in Ålesund. PHOTO: Wikipedia Commons

“Last week we sold 22,500 tons of skrei,” Willy Godtlibsen of industry association Norges Råfisklag told newspaper Aftenposten. “We have to go back nearly 20 years to see such a good week.”

Those on board the fishing fleets are smiling, with the cod catch expected to exceed NOK 2 billion. Neither maritime researchers, fishermen nor fishmongers have seen better catches than what’s coming in right now.

“The spawning is the highest we’ve ever measured,” said Erik Berg of the marine research agency Havforskningsinstituttet. He and his colleagues attribute the record catch to good management between the Norwegians and the Russians, with quotas held at a sustainable level while intense patrols against illegal fishing have taken place at sea.

Berg said that warmer seas and easy access to food can also have boosted the cod catch to historic highs.

Prices are remaining stable, even increasing, despite the large supplies. Fishermen are getting around NOK 16 per kilo, while retailers are demanding around NOK 70-80 per kilo in the market.

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