Its new drying plant allows Nergård Seafood in northern Norway to meet international demand for dried cod, saithe, haddock and tusk throughout the year.
We have delivered a reversible heat pump to this company at Bø in Vesterålen through Alfsen og Gunderson, a leading Norwegian specialist in water, air, drying and treatment technologies.
Drying ranks as the oldest known form of fish preservation, and the method is more than a thousand years old. It removes only water, while all the nutrients remain in the fish.
Producing dried fish calls for a good raw material, which was traditionally preserved with the aid of wind and weather on various kinds of outdoor drying racks.
Lofoten offers optimal natural conditions for hanging up and drying white fish when the spring spawning cod come into the coast to provide the basis for one of Norway’s great fisheries.
Traditionally, the catch is hung out to dry from early March to mid-April. Further north, the season can extend into May.
Modern technology and full control of temperature and humidity make it possible to dry fish indoors year-round. That in turn increases capacity, flexibility and profitability for producers.