Herring on the polar night with Jan Johansen April 24

Herring fishing has probably been conducted in this country on a larger or smaller scale for as long as there have been people here. And for just as long, it has alternated between good years and bad years. This uncertainty has created a special excitement around herring fishing. Suddenly, the wealth from the sea could literally come pouring into our coastal areas, with food and prosperity for everyone – as long as the good years lasted. This “Atlantic Klondike” was very similar to the original in Alaska. People came and earned a lot in a short time. Herring speculators came and went either rich or completely broke.

 In the 1500th century, herring fishing in Norway was no longer only valued as a hobby in the nature household, but now it was possible to fish much larger quantities because it was now possible to salt and process the herring. In 1699, spring herring arrived in Western Norway and it became a major annual resource until around the mid-1780s. There must have been a particularly large herring population north of Stadt for a twenty-year period from 1736. In Norway, the 1700s ended with empty herring nets and herring nuts.

From around 1806 to about 1870, we had a new rich herring stock with winter herring. It was in this stock that ice skating was developed and the herring could be taken further from land. This further led to herring fishing off Iceland becoming a new major industry.

People in Siglufjordur often talk about two Norwegian settlements. The first when Tormod the Strong landed in Siglufjordur around the year 900, and the second in 1903 when several Norwegian fishing boat owners came with their ships and laid the foundation for a large herring town in a small fjord at the eastern end of the sea.

 New Golden Age

In 1947, a new golden age for herring fishing began, and it is this period that is the theme of Jan Johansen's lecture at the Ishavsmuseet. Jan started herring fishing in 1951 and was active until 2003. Jan is a living encyclopedia of fishing history, and the stories from herring fishing in the 50s along our coast are endless. "Do you know?; -In 1954 we pulled up around 11-12 million hectoliters of herring. We made so much money that it was almost heavy to carry!", says Jan. In his lecture, Johansen will talk about the developments he was able to witness during these years. From steam to engines, to nylon nets, power units and radar. The biggest revolution in herring fishing was undoubtedly when Asdicen came along, says Jan. He praises marine scientist Finn Devold, whom Johansen calls a wise man. He did a lot of good during this period. Devold took the time to both listen to and talk to the fishermen. In 2015, for the first time, collaboration was entered into between researchers and fishermen on a research expedition to achieve better population measurements of Norwegian spring-spawning herring.

The large winter herring fisheries in Western Norway after the 1950s attracted international attention. The Norwegian government arranged trips for foreign diplomats to the herring fields, and travel agencies arranged trips for tourists. The most skilled seiners became celebrities of the time. But in 1969 it was mostly over, and we switched to fishing for capelin and mackerel. Mackerel was discovered in 1965, says Jan. But then a new herring season came again from 1984. There were enormous quantities of herring. The 1983 spawning was as large as the 1952 spawning.

Jan Johansen brings many stories and also films when he visits the Ishavsmuseet on April 24th.

 Buckwheat herring and milk soup

In earlier times, it was the herring that kept the fishermen's wives and the Arctic hags from having food on the table while the men were at sea. Herring and oatmeal soup had to feed many a child's mouth in a tight household.

Today, herring is used as a festive food for both young and old. After Jan Johansen's lecture, there will be a food festival at the Ishavsmuseet, and of course herring is on the menu. Bokna herring with cabbage stew and potatoes with milk soup on oatmeal. Herring e`koma! Registration for food service.