It's a surreal experience to go from boarding a plane in muggy London to soaring over Norway's snow-capped mountains, looking down on pristine waters and tiny villages all but cut off from civilisation. I was on my way to the north of the country to discover how Norway is home to some of the best farmed salmon on the planet, and how local fishermen tackle the big issue of sustainability and the challenges of feeding a growing population.
On the island of Senja – Norway’s second biggest island behind Hinnøya – seafood is woven through the fabric of society. Driving around the island, where the west coast is fragmented by dramatic fjords, you’ll find fish pens dotted around in the same way you’d expect to see grazing cows in rural Britain, and most porches are adorned with hanging cod fillets, hung out to dry to create that most unique of Norwegian bar snacks, stockfish.
Aside from the stunning surroundings, Senja offers a small snapshot of Norway’s relationship with one of its most important industries – seafood. Norway is of course famous for its 83,000km of coastline, but it’s not just the natural bounty of pristine water that makes it such a hub for salmon farming. This is an industry that is constantly raising the bar in sustainable aquaculture worldwide, and even pioneered the first ever salmon farm back in the 1970s.