LUIS BLASCO Norway
Norway
Updated Tuesday, March 19, 2024-00:08
The small island of
Husøy
, one of the almost 240,000 that Norway has, has been awake for a long time at 3 in the morning.
Its port is a continuous movement of fishing boats that go out in search of one of the country's treasures: skrei, a premium cod.
Located 1,500 kilometers north of
Oslo
, this small islet, with barely 300 inhabitants and which can only be accessed by a narrow bridge, lives by and for this fish, which travels from the cold waters of the Barents Sea to Norway to spawn.
Jimmy Tøllefesen
is one of the fishermen who, for more than 30 years, has gone out every day between January and April to fill his boat's nets.
Leaning out of the
bridge
window , wearing short sleeves despite the -3ºC, a smile frames his Nordic blue eyes.
"Welcome to the Hallvardson," he says in perfect English.
The boat, 14 meters long and 7 meters wide, is 30 years old, but it is equipped with the latest technology: radar, sonar, navigation charts... all digital and all at the service of the most
efficient and sustainable
fishing possible.
At 4:30, he receives the approval from the fishing authority and heads out of the port.
At 8 knots, on a night broken by heavy snow, it travels through the
Øyfjorden
fjords .
Ahead, three hours of crossing to the fishing ground where Jimmy and his crew, made up of three other sailors, expect a good day.
"The minimum is 10 tons," he explains while pointing out his destination on the map.
The sailors sleep in the cabin, if it is possible to fall asleep with the
incessant swaying
caused by the waves that collide with the ship.
“And today we have a quiet day,” says Jimmy, always with a smile on his mouth.
At 7 in the morning you can already see the mountains in the distance.
The snow
kisses
the seashore and leaves a completely white landscape.
Jimmy controls the return to the port of Husoy.
The ship's radio crackles messages from the captains who are already on the fishing ground.
Hallvardson will have
to
wait his turn.
"We usually have between 10 and 15 boats," he explains.
"We can't start until everyone else finishes," he adds.
Five minutes before his turn, Jimmy wakes up the crew.
"They have to be rested for work," he says.
A few minutes later three sailors come out from the stern dressed in overalls to protect themselves from the cold, thick gloves and a helmet.
The maneuver to cast the net into the sea has begun.
Two kilometers
of thick rope carry the gigantic net to the sea.
"We lowered it between 100 and 200 meters," explains Jimmy.
The operation lasts almost an hour.
With the net already in the sea, the boat traces a wide oval to begin collecting the fish.
The sonar marks the density of the
school of fish
, the depth at which it is found and makes an approximate calculation of the average size of the cod: thousands of specimens over 60 centimeters long.
The
collection maneuver
can last more than an hour.
“We are going at a maximum of two knots so as not to damage the net or the fish,” explains Jimmy, pointing at the screen.
When the net emerges to the surface, it is enough to see the color of the sea to know if the catch has been good or bad.
The sparkle in his eyes gives Jimmy away: “Magnificent.”
Panoramic of the island of Husoy.
Thousands of skrei appear from the gigantic mesh.
The long journey, 1,000 kilometers, makes the meat
abundant and tender
and has less fat.
Highly appreciated by consumers, they have made it one of the kings of the season.
Jimmy, already in the stern and dressed like the rest of the crew, easily handles the
crane
that transports the fish to the inside of the boat.
“We do it in batches of one and a half tons,” he explains.
Before arriving at port
A small door gives access to the room where two members of the crew have begun an essential task:
bleeding
the captured animals.
With a sharp knife, they slice the animal's neck and bleed it completely.
This step is essential for it to have
snowy meat
, one of the requirements that the inspection patrol waiting for the ship in the port will monitor.
The ship heads its way back home.
The fjords, just a speck on the horizon, are getting closer little by little.
With a constant speed of
eight knots
, the boat moves less thanks to the 20 tons it carries in the hold.
The information is given by Markus, the youngest of the sailors.
He is barely 22 years old, but he is clear that his place is in the sea.
He comes from Oslo and could work in the factory, where hands are always needed, but for the past four years he has been going out to sea to fish for skrei.
Markus and other crew members bleeding the fish.
"You earn much more than in the factory, although it is much harder," he justifies.
“But I love it,” she says with a smile that lights up his huge blue eyes.
The salary of a sailor can be around
100,000 euros per year
;
that of a captain, more than 140,000 euros.
Markus is in charge of taking the ship to port while the captain rests for a couple of hours.
At 1:30 p.m., Jimmy appears on the stairs that lead to the cabins.
With a smile on his face, he chews on a sandwich of
brown cheese
, a very popular cheese in Norway.
His look denotes satisfaction: "A great day of fishing," he comments.
With the boat already docked, it is time to unload the merchandise. At BR-Karlsen,
a factory that processes fish
, activity is constant.
The specimens are unloaded into a machine that separates the head from the body.
The latter goes to the processing line, where a small army guts the animal to leave it completely clean.
The eggs, the liver, the stomach, the bone... "Everything is used in this fish," says
Rita Karlsen
, great-granddaughter of one of the two brothers who founded the company in 1932.
María and Jaime, two of the Spaniards who do the skrei season.
In high season there are more than
240 workers
of up to 20 nationalities.
Among them, several Spaniards who come to this small town in search of a salary that is impossible in our country.
María
, from Santander, has been traveling to Husøy for six years to participate in the season.
From November to April she lives on the small island and dedicates most of her time to skrei.
Jaime, her partner, has been with her for two years.
«In a strong month you can get more than 5,000 euros;
in a more normal month, around 3,000,” says Jaime.
Of course, the work days can be exhausting.
On busy days of the season they start work at
7.30 in the morning
and can leave well into the night.
Despite the hardness of the work, Jaime confesses that it is worth it: «You make a lot of progress financially;
psychologically and mentally it helps you a lot.
Rest days
are
marked by the sea.
"If there is a lot of storm, wind or waves, the boats usually don't leave, the next day no fish arrives and we have a day of rest," says Jaime, who has brought one of his best friends to work with him.
Fish processing line.
The Spanish colony is united on the island. They get together to watch football or series.
When it's a free day, they go on excursions around the area or visit the
nearest cities
, an hour away by car.
Together with the rest of the workers, they prepare the fish for export.
Fresh or salted, thousands of boxes leave for Europe and the United States.
More than 1,000 tons of fresh skrei arrived in Spain in 2022, according to estimates by the
Norwegian Seafood Council
, which places our country as the world's first recipient.
Before leaving the factory, the cod goes through strict control carried out by the Skrei patrol.
Jonette Braathen
and her partner, identified with a Norges Råfisklag reflective vest, inspect the entire process, even before the fish arrives at the factory.
Cod has to meet
strict requirements
for appearance, temperature, smell, conservation and labeling to get the seal certifying that it is an authentic Norwegian skrei.
Maintaining the high prestige of this fish depends on this meticulous inspection.
With this passport, it will travel in less than five days, and in perfect condition, to
fishmongers
throughout Europe, where it will arrive fresh and ready for consumers to discover what makes the king of the Norwegian Sea so special.
Data on a premium cod
Dropdown
Season
Fishing begins in January and ends in April.
Traveler
This fish, whose name means "nomad", travels more than a thousand kilometers from the Barents Sea in Russia to the cold waters of the Norwegian Sea to spawn.
Share
Our country, the world's leading market for this fish, has more than 7,000 points of sale.
The Norwegian Seafood Council estimates the amount that arrived in Spain in 2023 at more than 1,000 tons.
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