Skrei fishing in Norway has an extraordinary history with over 1,000 years of recorded seafaring and fishing heritage dating back to the age of the Vikings. It is this that has helped shape Norway into the country it is today.
“You could say that Norway was built on Skrei,” says Jack-Robert Møller, Director Norwegian Seafood Council UK. Quite a statement perhaps, however the annual arrival of Skrei cod between January and April has provided an opportunity for great celebration ever since the age of the Vikings, both for its nutritional and commercial values.
The Norwegians learnt to preserve and use almost every part of this protein-rich seafood, catching and drying Skrei cod since Viking times and exporting it since 875AD. The climate in Northern Norway allowed the Vikings to dry this protein rich ‘white gold’, without salt, hanging them up in the wind in the early spring after their catch, and taking it on voyages as a source of nutrition and currency along their trade routes.
Indeed, Skrei provided the Vikings with enough protein to travel the vast distances by boat to became the first Europeans to discover the American continent. It also enabled the ancient Norse people to live far north in lands otherwise uninhabitable during the long and dark winters.
Skrei was considered so precious at one point in time, that fishermen were ordered to pay a Skrei tax to King Øystein I Magnusson (reigning period: 1088-1123). This tax meant that each fisherman had to give the King five of these valuable fish, and it proved so lucrative that helped fund the build of Norwegian landmarks including Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, the largest medieval building in Scandinavia.
Today, Skrei is considered a special species to fishing communities and seafood lovers all over the world. Some of the finest chefs in the UK have been working with the fish in their kitchens; from Michel Roux Jr and Monica Galetti to Robin Gill, Simon Hulstone and Daniel Galmiche.
And in addition to select fishmongers, Skrei is now stocked in Wholefoods, Selfridges and Harrods. Booths also plan to list Skrei for the remainder of the season due to high customer demand for the product, so the fish is becoming more and more accessible for the consumer to enjoy cooking in the comfort of their own home.
Jack-Robert Møller, Director Norwegian Seafood Council UK commented: “Cod has always been one of the UKs favourite species. In fact, the UK is the biggest cod market in the world. A long time ago, before 1850 when the fish & chip revolution began, cod was consumed as a natural product delivered fresh, dried, salted and cured.
In Norway, we still have the same traditions and every year when the Skrei seasons starts, all Norwegian households cook their Skrei mølje to their own secret recipe, which includes Skrei cod, cod liver, cod roe, cod stomachs and cod tongues, and they enjoy this together several times during the season from January to April.Skrei cod has been a fantastic sales success across Europe since we started to introduce Skrei cod in 1993 to the Spanish market. The high export volumes are mainly attributable to the retail market and we expect to sell 10,000 tonnes of Skrei cod across Europe in 2016.
Skrei cod has been a fantastic sales success across Europe since we started to introduce Skrei cod in 1993 to the Spanish market. The high export volumes are mainly attributable to the retail market and we expect to sell 10,000 tonnes of Skrei cod across Europe in 2016.
We are really still in the early days of the product launch in the UK. We started to introduce Skrei to the UK just three years ago and since then, we have had very positive feedback from the restaurant sector and high-end retailers. Since Skrei exports are routed through Denmark, it is difficult to calculate exact figures for the UK, however, we can deduce that in January and February this year, Norway exported 51 tonnes of Skrei to the UK, compared to 17 tonnes in the same period in 2015, so we are predicting another strong season.”
Skrei – Where and how
Web: www.codfromnorway.com
Historical images thanks to Museum Nord.
2016 availability
Wholefoods, Selfridges, Harrods (and soon Booths) in addition to quality fishmongers will be stocking Skrei subject to availability until April 2016. Skrei will also be available to enjoy in top Michelin-star and fine dining restaurants in London and across the UK. Ask your supplier for quality-labelled Skrei.
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