From the Codfather’s Logbook

Every winter, Skrei Cod leave the Barents Sea for Northern Norway’s coast, a long haul through icy waters. They’re driven to spawn, pushing south past towering currents, hungry seals, and the Arctic’s long night. These mature cods aim for the same spawning grounds their ancestors hit—coastal fjords and shallows where eggs stand a chance.

From January to April, Northern Norway’s fishing towns gear up. Geir Halvard Nilssen, dubbed the Codfather, works Austnesfjorden in eastern Lofoten. A Grundéns friend with decades of experience on the water, he knows Skrei like his own shadow. The cod’s route is a slog: southwest from the Barents, skirting Vesterålen’s cliffs, cutting through Vestfjorden’s churn, then splitting—some to Røst, others to Geir’s turf. This year, herring swarms up north threw them off. Fewer reached Austnesfjorden, fattening up on the baitfish buffet instead. Geir still landed his quota for the season, leaning on decades of reading tides and fish behavior.

The Skrei fishery’s no sure thing. Some seasons, eastern Lofoten’s nets stay empty while western Finnmark’s boats pull heavy. Word’s out—Finnmark’s hot now, and a part Lofoten’s fleet has bolted there. Records from the 1800s show the same ebb and flow: decades of bounty, then dry spells. It’s the game—cycles shift, and you adapt or eat wind.