What is Lofotfisket (the Lofoten cod fishery)?
Lofotfisket is the seasonal winter cod fishery for spawning skrei in and around the Lofoten islands in northern Norway, running roughly January to April. As Northeast Arctic cod migrate in from the Barents Sea to spawn, the coastal fleet meets them with traditional gear. It is Norway's oldest and most storied fishery and still drives the northern fresh-fish economy.
Every winter the mature Northeast Arctic cod — known as skrei — leave the Barents Sea and gather to spawn along the coast, concentrating around Lofoten. The fishery they sustain has been documented for over a thousand years and was for centuries the backbone of the regional economy, drawing thousands of seasonal fishers north and underpinning the production of dried stockfish for export.
In Norwegian landings data the fishery shows up unmistakably as a sharp seasonal peak: cod landings climb steeply through February and March, and roughly two-thirds of the entire year's cod is landed between January and April. The fleet is dominated by smaller coastal vessels using gillnets, longlines, handlines and Danish seine, landing fresh fish into the buyers and plants along the Nordland and Troms og Finnmark coast.
Because skrei is recorded under the ordinary Atlantic cod species code, Lofotfisket has no dedicated code in the data. You identify it indirectly — through the January-to-April timing, the coastal gear types and the northern landing locations — rather than by a single label. The fishery is opened and regulated each season, with the catch counting against the national cod quota.
Frequently asked questions
- When does Lofotfisket take place?
- Mainly from January to April, peaking in February and March, when spawning cod gather along the coast. About two-thirds of the year's cod is landed in this window.
- What is the difference between Lofotfisket and skrei?
- Skrei is the migrating, spawning Northeast Arctic cod; Lofotfisket is the winter fishery that targets it in and around Lofoten. One is the fish, the other is the fishery.
- Where is the Lofoten cod fishery?
- In and around the Lofoten islands in Nordland, extending along the northern coast through Troms og Finnmark, where the cod migrate in from the Barents Sea.
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