Heard of ice wrong? Neither do we. The white deep-water fish is a relatively unknown food fish in Norway. That is why not many people buy it. Now it is considered a by-catch, and goes into the grinder and is ground up to fish feed. There are several who want to do something about it. Among others, chef Jimmy Øien at the restaurant Rest in Oslo. – It’s an insanely good food fish. Jimmy Øien is the founder and chef of the restaurant Rest in Oslo. They make gourmet food from what often ends up as rubbish. Photo: Rune Carlsen The case was first mentioned in Kyst og Fjord. – Better than the coastal cod True to the name, the Michelin restaurant makes gourmet food from what for many is leftovers or rubbish. Such as cock comb – or ice wrong. The chef even has it on his menu right now. – Isgalt is one of my favorite fish, along with schooling. The meat is reminiscent of redfish, but it is a solid cod fish that is suitable for frying, baking, mostly, says Øien. – I think it is much better than regular cod. Not better than cod in season, mind you, but better than regular coastal cod. Icefish (fish) Photo: Erik Jenssen / Kyst og Fjord Icefish is a fish species in the schooling family, which in turn is a cod fish. The species has an Arctic distribution on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. It is usually found in deep and cold water, from 100 to 1000 meters deep. In Norway, it is found from Svalbard and the Barents Sea in the north and south along the continental slope to Bergen. The iceberg almost only eats shrimp. Iceberg is an excellent food fish and tastes like lobster. There is no directed fishing for icefish in Norway today, but some is fished as by-catch in other fisheries. Source: SNL – Why is it not more popular? – Hard to say. It goes a lot in trends and what one is used to eating. Norwegians eat almost only halibut, cod, saithe and farmed salmon. But there are many more types of fish in the Norwegian Sea. However, it is important to sell the fish as a fillet, not as a whole fish, he points out. – It looks a little strange. But if you sell it as a fillet, it only looks like cod. Bet on the ice boar: – Too crazy to use it for feed Ole Olsen is the general manager of the fish reception Sufi AS on Sund in Lofoten. He says they see large amounts of icebergs as bycatch. Photo: Kai Jæger Kristoffersen / NRK – It is too crazy to use a fish that has a tasty and fine meat for feed production. Therefore, we thought that now is a polite time to get started with the sale of ice cream. This is what Ole Olsen says at the Sufi fish reception in Lofoten. Now they are betting on the “unknown” deep-water fish. Prices for fish have risen considerably in a short time. – Therefore, it is a good time to start with this, he says. Have you heard of the fish ice cold before? – He is not so picturesque from the outside. But as soon as it is filleted, the meat is perfect, says Olsen. – I think it has a huge potential. And the prices for icebergs seem to be rising little by little. According to Olsen, they have previously only paid a few ears for the kilo since the deep-water fish has not had value, but rather been a problem. – Now we pay for quality. Now we are around 4-5 kroner a kilo for round weight. It is significantly lower than cod. – In comparison, the cod is around 25 kroner per kilo for round weight. Olsen points out that the numbers are not completely comparable, because an iceberg has a much larger head and thicker skin than cod. The new monkfish? Figures from Råfisklaget for 2021 confirm what Olsen says about landing little ice wrong. So much icefish (round weight) has been registered from Nordmøre to the Russian border (catch south of Nordmøre is not included, because it is not Råfisklaget’s area): 2021: Approx. 141 tons 2020: Approx. 116 tons 2019: Approx. 91 tons 2018: Approx. 50 tonnes This is not a lot of fish. In comparison, almost 353,000 tonnes of cod were landed in 2021. – It is not a large species, and it is almost unlikely that you will be able to catch this particular fish on your own fishing. This is what Ryfisklaget’s sales manager, Willy Godtliebsen, tells NRK. – There has been a lot of focus on cod, but now that we can harvest haddock, anglerfish, and the whole spectrum, it is good for the markets. This is exactly what Olsen in Lofoten intends to do. While they are waiting for the demand to pick up, he is working to establish cooperation with restaurants. – It is important to utilize all the resources. Today, most things are taken care of. That’s very good. But when it comes to icebergs, we’re a little behind. – A few decades ago, we also threw the anglerfish into the sea. But now it is a luxury fish that pays extremely well.
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Ice cream is the delicacy fish “nobody” has heard of – NRK Nordland
