Norwegian mackerel boasts excellence in taste and freshness

Norwegian Seafood Council manager Jan Eirik Johnsen talking during an interview with The Korea Times at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Norwegian Seafood Council

By Jhoo Dong-chan

Mackerel has been one of Korea’s favorite seafoods for hundreds of years and it appears in various historic literature. Mackerel has been caught mostly along the nation’s east coast but now a large portion is coming from far away _ Norway.

“Norwegian mackerel products are enjoying surging popularity among Korean customers,” Norwegian Seafood Council manager Jan Eirik Johnsen told The Korea Times during an interview in Seoul, Wednesday.

“Norwegian mackerel is caught in the clean and cold north Atlantic Ocean. Since the fish live in such low water temperature, they tend to have more fat compared to the mackerel caught in Asia.”

Sales of Norwegian mackerel have soared in the 2010s.

“I believe Korean consumers care so much about food safety. After the east Japan earthquake in 2011 and following the radiation leak to the Pacific Ocean, they stopped buying not only Japanese but also Korean and Chinese mackerel products,” Johnsen said.

“It was a good opportunity for us. Since then, an increasing number of Korean customers have had the opportunity to eat Norwegian mackerel and recognized our excellence in taste and safety.”

Before 2011, the market share of Norwegian mackerel was only 11 percent of Korea’s imported mackerel, following China with 26 percent. But Norwegian products are dominating the scene now with a market share of 88 percent.

“Koreans love seafood products. Each Korean eats on average 68 kilograms of seafood every year, the largest seafood consuming nation in the world,” Johnsen said.

“Norwegian firms are now diversifying their mackerel products. The most popular at the moment are the fillets. They are easy to cook, and it doesn’t take a long time to prepare them.”

Norway exported over 35,000 tons of mackerel products to Korea in 2015 and the amount topped 40,000 tons last year.