Norwegian Fishing Boat sjark

Timm

2012-04-27 09:46:49

A couple people have asked me to see a picture of a typical small Norwegian boat. They are called "sjark". I can provide the link to the largest national used website where you can find narly all the boats for sale up and down the coast.

http://www.finn.no/finn/boat/used/result?&BOAT_CLASS=6921

Click on that site, and then just scroll through the 10 or more pages. A couple notes; most all wood boats are "aluminium overbygd". This means that everything from the waterline or bulwarks up is aluminum. Also, most folks fish a boat that is 35 "fot" or smaller because the quota to buy into larger vessels over 35 "fot" increases dramatically. Also, there exists a classification of a fisherman where you can elect to be a group 2 fisherman instead for a regualr group 1. As a group 2 fisherman, you must have a boat that is no longer than 11 meters (about 35 feet), and your yearly income from fishing cannot exceed 50 percent of your annual income. In other words, its a remnant of the old Norwegian tradition of "Farmer/Fisherman". This group 2 designation allows the fisherman to get free quota instead of buying it as a regular group 1 fisherman has to. I am very fond of this group 2 designation and think that Alaska could benefit very much form it so as to keep the quota (IFQs) spread among among us little guys instead of having them all eaten up by the big guys or beach skippers.

Have fun learning some Norwegian boat words.

islands50

2012-04-27 11:28:36

Thank you for that wonderful site, Not that I can understand all of the laungauge, I see some intresting design ideas, and construction methods. along with some power plants, I think these are the old slow turning engines for the most part, and very fuel efficent, another very noticable point is the amount of electronics onboard.

Abundance

2012-04-27 18:13:01

Thanks Tim. After looking through these boats, I can tell that those guys really know how to build a small boat. Those things look like they would ride the waves like a duck. Have you ever taken one for a spin? They look like fun.

SilverT

2012-04-28 00:36:35

Thanks for posting. They look built to take an absolute beating.

Timm

2012-04-28 07:20:43

Another note regarding these Norwegian sjarks. The main fishing season in Norway is January through March and then picks up again in August til November. So, they are fishing pretty much in the dark, cold and worst weather year after year.

Abundance

2012-04-28 15:40:45

What do they fish for? Do they use nets or hooks? This is a fun conversation!

islands50

2012-04-28 17:42:55

this is one of the best I have seen in a long while also, I find it intresting on how different types of gear are deployed and used, looking at the photos, I would venture a quess it is mostly nets, what type I am not sure of though.

One thing I am wondering is the exchange rate beteen the 2 currencys, Some of those boats look like they maybe fun for just getting away on.

Timm

2012-04-28 17:53:08

There are three quota fish and everything else is open entry. The quota fish are: cod, haddock and pollock. All others, including halibut and king crab and EVERYTHING else is open entry. Wild Salmon are illegal to fish and only a limited number of set netters have grandfather rights. The two most popular gear types are 1) tangle nets (a type of bottom gillnet) and 2)longline. Longliners are a dying breed, but still out there. Bait costs a lot in Norway. Most boats are tangle netters, or switch gear to suit the fish or area. The other type of gear that most all boats have are up to three jig machines, mainly for pollock. There is another type of gear that is becoming popular, but is really sketchy. It is called "snurrevad" and is a sort of trawl drag with a pursed net. It is illegal to trawl for these species listed, but there is a way to manipulate the snurrevad gear so it becomes a trawl. Also, the hottest thing these days is a "speed sjark". This is just a boat with a very fast engine or two and has a small mustad autoline system. It zips out there, drops 50k hooks and zips back and forth all day long. Speed of course here equates to more hooks in the water. There is no bycatch limit/allowance. In fact most small boats focus on "bycatch".

I worked as a longshoreman and still do, but more limited these days because of the back breaking nature of the work and I am full time in school again. I unloaded freezer autoliners and trawlers and saw all the different fish coming out the ocean there. Most all have some value. Fish prices are good, really good this year. Still viable to be a fisherman in Norway despite the 10 dollars a gallon diesel price.

Timm

2012-04-28 17:55:02

Just to amend: It is illegal for small boats to trawl these species. It is of course legal for the larger guys.

Abundance

2012-04-29 02:24:57

Do their fish, cod, halibut and crab, taste much like ours? I've kind of taken a liking to cod this last winter. Not as good as halibut, but worth more than people are getting for them. I'm glad to hear that they are getting by even with high fuel prices. It gives us hope. Do you know if the fish are mostly eaten domestically, or do they go all over Europe and the world?