Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)
The Lofoten Stock fish has gained the status as Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) in the EU
This means that the product of dried fish from Lofoten is protected. We can now qualify it on top “hjell”, in the same class as Parma ham and champagne. Dried fish can be produced elsewhere and can be dried indoors, like they do it in Iceland. But the historic and unique product of Lofoten fish, which has been a financial support in the construction of Norway for more than a thousand years, can only be produced in Lofoten.
These are Lofoten’s unique natural conditions, that made cod drying sustainable and turned it into a very unique form of preserving a high-quality raw material. It is only in Lofoten’s outdoor natural drying environment, that dried fish from Lofoten can be produced.
