Ålesund.
Main harbour for export of dried salted fish.

Ålesund

The largest fish export harbour in Norway.

Alesund is the largest fish export harbour in Norway, being close to the big fishing grounds of the Atlantic Ocean and Barents Sea. Cod, haddock, halibut and coalfish, and king crab, are caught, packed and sent to cold stores.

But Alesund is also the main harbour for the export of dried salted fish from Norway. Its main markets these days are in the Caribbean, Brazil and African countries.

Fjordlaks AS alone, a leading producer of salted and dried fish, and based in the centre of Alesund, produces about 25,000 tons of dried salted fish a year.

Alesund’s reputation as a fish port is documented to about 1650, while it gained status as a “trading post” in 1793, and was formally recognised a town in 1848.

Fishing and trade increased, and a man from Alesund, Joakim Andersen, is recognised as being the first person to build a steamship for fishing, in 1884.

Frozen fish, salted fish. Yes, the two main reasons that Alesund still exists are fish and fish.