THE FISH THAT BUILT NORWAY
The first inhabitants settled along Norway’s
northern coast around 10 000 years ago. Why did they stay, you might wonder?
Because of the cod. Because of the ocean and the vast amount of food it contains. The Norwegian coast is a hilly landscape, with many high moun- tains. Thus for the people living there, the ocean naturally became their main transport route. And that is where the fish were too. Hunting methods were develop- ed and the ocean explored, and a particular fish caught their at- tention: “skrei” or Lofoten cod, which between January and April each year migrate thousands of miles from their home in the Bar- ents Sea to the Lofoten Islands to reproduce. Nobody knows exact- ly when the coastal population became aware of the cod’s spawn- ing pattern, but archaeological findings suggest that the annual Lofoten fishery may date as far back as 6000 years.
cod. They then sailed to England where the fish was bartered for wheat, honey, wine and fabrics.
Guests can
enjoy food made of fresh produce from the Norwegian coastline.
The method of drying the fish on large wooden racks was prob- ably started by the Vikings. It was actually the Vikings who first organised the Lofoten fishery, and people from all parts of the country travelled up there to take part. The very first rorbu cabins (fishing hut) probably also stem from this time. So do the first exports of stockfish. Egil’s saga describes how, in the year 875, the Viking chief Torolv sent some of his men to Lofoten to fish
The Lofoten cod has since then dominated life along the coast, and has been one of Norway’s most important exports for over a thousand years. It is largely exported as stockfish; unsalted cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks on the shore, which are called “hjell” in Norwegian. From your Hurtigruten ship, you can see these "hjell" on many parts of the coast, perched on the rock- face and hillsides by the sea. You might even say that Norway was built on cod and seafood. The seafood in our ocean is proba- bly also the reason why so many of our captains’ and crews’ an- cestors chose to settle along the coast. A bountiful, succulent catch is harvested daily, and served fresh to our passengers.
Norway is the world’s second largest exporter of seafood. Stockfish. Lutefisk. Salmon. Every day more than 31 million meals are created around the world, using ingredients from the waters along and off the Norwegian coast. The ocean is our ex- pertise, it is what we are famous for. That applies both to Norway and to Hurtigruten.
70
70
© Trym Ivar Bergsmo
© Seafood/Ingvar Eriksson
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146