international nomination publisher for stockfish traditions – UNESCO Heritage List

02 June 2026

Not only are we opening SKREI in June as an ode to fisheries and coastal culture, we have also submitted to the Directorate of Culture the nomination proposal for UNESCO’s cultural heritage list: “Stockfish ? cultural and culinary traditions of stockfish and associated social practices”.

The work has been an international collaboration between Norway, Iceland, Italy and Nigeria. The aim of the nomination is to ensure recognition and protection of the knowledge, practices and cultural heritage associated with stockfish ? a living tradition that has bound people, coastal communities and continents together for more than a thousand years.

The proposal is an important step towards a possible inscription on UNESCO’s representative list of humanity’s intangible cultural heritage. A team of UNESCO advisors has contributed to the Norwegian working group by Eivind Falk/Head of Department Norwegian Institute of Crafts, Einar Stamnes Norwegian Institute of Crafts, Camilla Rossing Head of the Norwegian Institute of Bunad and Folk Costume, Tore Friis Senior Advisor Norwegian Coastal Association.

Stockfish is among the world’s oldest methods of food preservation. Along the coasts of Northern Norway and Iceland, people have over generations developed knowledge about how fish can be dried with the help of nature’s own forces ? wind, cold and sun. This knowledge is based on careful observation of the weather, sea and seasons, and has been passed on through families, local communities and professional communities.

In Norway, stockfish is particularly strong in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. The tradition is also closely linked to Sea Sami (Bivdu) and Kven cultural communities. For many Sea Sami families, goikeguolli (stockfish) is part of daily life, language and cultural identity. At the same time, stockfish has for centuries been the basis for trade, settlement and contact between people in the north and communities far beyond Norway’s borders.

The nomination includes not only the production of stockfish itself, but also the extensive knowledge and social practices that surround the tradition. This includes fishing, hanging on racks, drying, maturing, scrapping and quality assessment, food traditions, stories, languages, festivals and local rituals. Throughout the value chain, knowledge that has been developed over generations is passed on.

Today, the tradition lives on far beyond the production areas in the north. In Italy, stoccafisso has become a central part of local food and holiday traditions, while in Nigeria, stockfish is part of daily cooking and important social contexts. Stockfish represents a unique cultural heritage across national borders that connects people through shared knowledge, history and practice.

The nomination has been developed through extensive collaboration between cultural institutions, NGOs, research communities, producers and tradition bearers in the four participating countries. Sea Sami organizations, local producers such as Stockfish from Lofoten, museums with SKREI at the forefront, the Slow Food network, cultural associations and international professional communities have contributed actively to the work.

? Stockfish is far more than a product. It represents knowledge, identity, community and belonging. Through this nomination, we want to highlight the people who keep the tradition alive, and highlight how cultural heritage can build bridges between different societies and cultures,” says the working group behind the nomination.

Through the work, it has been documented how stockfish traditions contribute to sustainable resource use, food security, knowledge transfer between generations and strengthening local communities. The production is based on natural drying without energy-intensive processes, and the tradition therefore also represents important knowledge about sustainable food systems.

The way forward

The nomination will now be processed by UNESCO’s professional evaluation body. If the application is recommended, it will be submitted to UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Intangible Cultural Heritage, which will make the final decision on inscription.

The working group hopes that the nomination will contribute to increased attention to the importance of stockfish as a living cultural heritage, and that the tradition will receive the international recognition it deserves.

Do you want to read more about the stockfish traditions?

Information about the Norwegian entry on the National Inventory List for Intangible Cultural Heritage can be found on the website of the Norwegian Cultural Heritage and the Norwegian Directorate of Culture. You can also visit the working group’s own website stokkfisk.no, or find stockfish at the stockfish producers’ own stockfish locator on torrfiskfralofoten.no

Contact information for the press

For more information, interview appointments or photo material, please contact:

SKREI Research Center Jonas WalsøeMuseum Nord/SKREI902 17 794Jonas.walsoe@museumnord.no

Slow Food BergenTerje InderhaugTerje.inderhaug@gmail.com

Slow Food Mearra-SápmiEinar EythorssonEinar Eythorsson einareythorsson6@gmail.com

Stockfish from LofotenAnne Karine StatleAnne.Statle@loveutvikling.no