Bleak prognosis for surströmming – also this year

For several years, reports have been made about the crisis for Baltic herring and this year is no exception. We have had to make enormous adjustments over the years to survive, says Jan Söderström, owner of Oskar's surströmming.

» Updated: Tue 10 Sept 2024 17:48 CEST

» Published: Sun 21 Jul 2024 07:48 CEST

For several years, there have been reports of a crisis for the herring and this year is no exception.

We have had to adapt enormously over the years to survive, says Jan Söderström, owner of Oskar's surströmming.

In just over a month, it's surströmming premiere. But it will be a scramble for the cans. Again.

Jan Söderström has long run the surströmming saltery in Sundsvall. He is not satisfied with this year's stock, despite it being slightly larger than last year's.

Our fishermen are fighting intensively and trying to get it together. That's why it's hard to say if it's better, I think it's actually about the same.

When it started, the saltery received 100 tons of herring. This year, they are preparing around 25-30 tons of surströmming.

Hans Frölander is a professional fisherman in Timrå. He too notices the lack of the silvery fish.

It's like last year, there's too little herring, he says.

According to both, the shortage is due to large-scale industrial fishing. It is the EU that jointly decides on a quota for how much herring can be fished in the seas.

It would be best to zero it out for a few years. So that the herring can recover and grow. It should probably be a total stop, really, thinks Jan Söderström.

If the low numbers continue, it will be impossible for him to continue his business.

We have had to adapt enormously over the years to survive. This year has gone well, but I know nothing about next year. That's the uncertainty, you don't know if you'll make it at all.

Last autumn, the fishing quotas in the Bay of Bothnia and the Gulf of Bothnia were reduced from 80,000 tons to 55,000 tons.