Father and son Brandal started the seal hunt from Sunnmøre

Severin and Peter S. Brandal

Author: Webjørn Landmark

Created: 05.03.2021 Last updated: 08.03.2021

1898 was a landmark year for the fishermen from Sunnmøre. Severin Brandal, father of Peter S. Brandal, took the lead in establishing seal fishing from Sunnmøre. Both men had noticed for several years, while fishing for cod in Finnmarka, that the skates there were loaded with skins and blubber from seals.

Severin was keen to try this, and his son Peter also wanted to join in. They decided to equip themselves for seal hunting.

Thus, the "Minna" was ice-strengthened and equipped for seal hunting in 1898. Severin set out with the "Nils Liaaen" as the first ship on April 28, 1898, the next day Peter S. set out with the "Minna", and a third ship, the "Sleipner" with skipper Jonas Fuglevik, also joined and set out on May 13. This was the start of a new and important trade route for all of Sunnmøre, and perhaps especially for the village of Brandal, and Ålesund. The first year they mustered with archers from the north to gain experience on the Arctic Ocean. For the pioneers from Sunnmøre, both walking on the ice and catching fur animals were completely new.

"Minna" with the bow at the edge of the ice.

The crew of "Minna" in 1900. Skipper Peter S. Brandal, Sevrin Liavåg, Knut Olsen, Olaf S. Brandal, Ludvik Hildre, Oskar Bigset, Alfred Andersen, Hans Furland, Johannes Brandal, Kristoffer Marø.

"Minna" with the bow at the edge of the ice.

Steward Olaf Sivertsen Brandal On Minna

Bottlenose dolphin catch Minna 1900 Photo Olaf S. Brandal

"Minna" capture after polar bear hunting in 1900.

Two live and eight dead polar bears

This first year, "Minna" delivered 30 walruses, 132 harbor seals, 327 seals, 2 live and 8 dead polar bears, 7 reindeer and 150 barrels of blubber. In 1899, Severin Brandal was the captain of "Nils Liaaen" to Novaya Zemlya, the crew of "Sleipner" led by J. Fuglevik made a large catch in record time in the East Ice, while "Minna" made a useful trip to the West Ice and Spitsbergen. This shows that the Sunnmøringane operated the catch independently of each other in this "pioneer era".

Made it to Northwestern Greenland by seal

In 1900, more people joined in the seal hunt. "Minna" and "Havfruen" even tried to get to the coast of North-East Greenland to try their luck there with catching animals on land. The skippers of the large shoal barques that were catching seals on the ice edge advised skippers Peter S. and Ole S. Brandal against this, they thought that getting to the coast of Greenland through the ice with the small skates the Brandal brothers had, without an engine, was a fool's errand. But the Brandal brothers got in and out well, they rowed the catching boats in silence with the ship in tow, and had collected a catch of 70 dead and 10 live polar bears with them home. In addition, "Minna" had 5 live musk oxen, and the catch also included polar wolves, musk oxen, walruses and humpback whales.

Baling of polar bears.Photos: Olaf S. Brandal

"Minna".Photos: Olaf S. Brandal

Posing with a throwing harpoon for catching walruses.Photos: Olaf S. Brandal

Crew on "Minna".Photos: Olaf S. Brandal

Kristoffer Marø on "Minna".Photos: Olaf S. Brandal

Crew on "Minna".Photos: Olaf S. Brandal

Went ashore and became a fisherman

These were the pioneer voyages. Peter S. Brandal understood that if one wanted to invest in seal hunting with sufficient profitability, one had to invest in new and larger ships. From 1911 he went ashore and became a fisherman.

He had many new large and modern sealing ships built in the years to come. Also factories on land that handled seal products. Peter S. Brandal became the pioneer who set the course for a new and modern sealing industry.

He was a forward-thinking businessman and industrial developer.

Peter S. Brandal.

Photos: Unknown