Lofoten Handbook

Lofoten cod fishery (skrei season)

Each winter the Northeast Arctic cod, called skrei, migrates from the Barents Sea to spawn in Vestfjorden on the inner side of Lofoten, and fishing boats follow. Store norske leksikon dates the Lofoten fishery to February–April; Visit Lofoten says the skrei arrive from January to April.

Last verified 16 September 2026

Why do it

Visitors can see a working seasonal fishery: boats landing fish, cod heads and stockfish hung on wooden racks (hjell), and restaurants serving fresh skrei. Stockfish from Lofoten has been traded for over a thousand years (Visit Lofoten).

Where

Visit Lofoten says the fish reception plants along the Lofoten Wall are busiest in March and early April. SKREI at Storvågan, Kabelvåg, the Lofoten Aquarium and the Norwegian Fishing Village Museum in Å explain the history.

Best time

January–April for the skrei (Visit Lofoten); the main arrival in Vestfjorden is February–March (Store norske leksikon); busiest in March and early April (Visit Lofoten). The World Championship in Cod Fishing (VM i skreifiske) is held in Svolvær, usually in the third week of March (Visit Lofoten).

Practical information

  • Scale: Store norske leksikon records 32,000 fishermen in 1896, 15,000–20,000 after the Second World War and 2,000–4,000 a year since the 1990s. Catches peaked at 69,200 tonnes in 2014 and fell from 53,930 tonnes in 2020 to 34,420 tonnes in 2021 as fewer skrei came to the inner side of Lofoten, with the decline continuing in following years.
  • Gear used today: gillnets, longlines, jigs and Danish seines (Visit Lofoten); a skrei must be at least five years old to make the migration.
  • Processing: roe salted for caviar, livers to cod liver oil, heads dried and valued especially in Nigeria, and fish dried as stockfish over about three months, sorted into more than 20 quality grades (Visit Lofoten).
  • Stockfish from Lofoten received Norwegian protection in 2007 and became the first Norwegian product certified by the EU, in 2014 (Visit Lofoten).
  • VM i skreifiske was first held in 1991, organised by Vågan båt- og sjøfiskeforening (Store norske leksikon); Visit Lofoten says around 600 anglers take part.
  • Fishing trips for visitors run in the season; Norwegian Customs allows 15 kg of fish per person, twice a year, only via a registered tourist fishing business, falling to 10 kg from 2027 (page updated 3 June 2026).

Where sources differ

  • Season start: January (Visit Lofoten) vs February (Store norske leksikon for the Lofoten fishery). Visit Lofoten's Lofoten Fishery Experience page says February to the end of April.
  • Participation peak: 32,000 in 1895 (Visit Lofoten) vs 32,000 in 1896 (Store norske leksikon).
  • Stockfish quality grades: more than 20 (Visit Lofoten skrei page), eighteen (Visit Lofoten fishery history page), 14–16 for the Italian market (Arctic Norway).

Questions

When is the skrei season in Lofoten?
Visit Lofoten gives January to April. Store norske leksikon describes the Lofoten fishery as running February–April, with most fish arriving in Vestfjorden in February and March.
What is skrei?
Mature cod from the Northeast Arctic stock that migrate from the Barents Sea to the Norwegian coast to spawn, mainly around Lofoten and Vesterålen.
When is the World Championship in Cod Fishing?
In Svolvær, usually in the third week of March. Visit Lofoten says it has been held there every year since 1991.
Is the Lofoten fishery getting smaller?
Participation has fallen from 32,000 fishermen in 1896 to 2,000–4,000 a year since the 1990s. Catches peaked at 69,200 tonnes in 2014 and have fallen since 2020 as fewer skrei reach the inner side of Lofoten.

Sources

Details last verified 16 September 2026.