Norwegian pelagic landings fell in 2025, despite higher volumes of key species such as mackerel and herring, according to official sales data released on 13 January 2026.
Total landings across all fleets reached 1.21 million tonnes in 2025. That was down from 1.44 million tonnes the year before. The data covers Norwegian and foreign vessels, with landings both in Norway and abroad.
Total volumes are down year on year
Combined landings from all vessels totalled 1,214,504 tonnes in 2025. The year before, the figure was 1,436,241 tonnes.
The drop was mainly linked to lower volumes of North Sea herring and a sharp fall in last year’s capelin fishery, which had no recorded landings in 2025.
Mackerel remains the largest fishery
Mackerel was the largest species by value and one of the largest by volume.
Total mackerel landings reached 228,330 tonnes in 2025. That was lower than the 361,950 tonnes landed in 2024.
Most mackerel was delivered by Norwegian vessels, both in Norway and abroad. Foreign vessels also landed large volumes in Norwegian ports.
Strong volumes of herring
Total landings of Norwegian spring-spawning herring reached 266,878 tonnes in 2025. This was slightly below the previous year.
North Sea herring landings fell more sharply, to 154,201 tonnes, down from more than 190,000 tonnes the year before.
Blue whiting stable, capelin absent
Blue whiting landings totalled 450,015 tonnes in 2025. This was close to the previous year’s level.
There were no recorded landings of Barents Sea capelin in 2025. In 2024, capelin accounted for more than 118,000 tonnes.
Foreign vessels land more in Norway
Foreign vessels delivered 255,634 tonnes to Norwegian ports in 2025. That was higher than the previous year.
Most of these landings were mackerel, herring and blue whiting. Smaller volumes were landed abroad by foreign fleets.