The other Stavanger

Before there was oil, there were sardines.  Actually, brisling, not sardines.  The French sued the Norwegians for 9 years in early 1900 and finally the courts decided that the Norwegians did not have sardines, but a fish called brisling.  So all "sardines" that are exported say, in very fine print somewhere on the can, "brisling".  Many of Stavangers's 70 canneries have now been transformed into modern offices and upscale housing, but the Canning Museum remains in the original building with the factory intact.   The workers are all that's missing.  The equipment and layout has not changed from pictures that adorn each work area of the actual cannery--some from 1905 and others from 1980s. We followed the entire process from sardine delivery from the fishermen, brining (you check to make sure the brine is sufficiently salty by dropping a potato with two nails into the brining water.  If the potato sinks, need to add more salt until it floats. There's an advertisement for the nail company on the wall!).  Women, making 1/3 the salary of men, then  thread the fish onto long rods to be smoked in giant oven with racks for the fish on top and a place for the fire on the bottom.  A machine, shown in the picture, allowed the women to put the fish, head first, into slots you see at the front of the device and then thread the rod through the eyes and increased production from 1000 fish an hour to 4000 per woman! There was a small rebellion when women wanted increased pay--remember they already made 2/3 less than men--for the increased production.  Management nixed that pretty quick! Smoking is men's work--the 1905 BBQ--- and this was the most coveted job in the factory.  Pay was 3 times what men in the other areas made, but the temperature would get up to 130 dgrees and free beer was provided for the smokers.  A 90 year old smoker is still an advisor to the museum and occasionally come in to mingle with the tourists.  The beer was a big incentive since drinking was illegal in Stavanger which has long been the "Bible Belt" of Norway.  Even now, alcohol, excluding beer, is still not sold except in state run liquor store, of which Stavanger has only 2.  They don't make it easy to drink--and alcohol is expensive, even by Norwegian standards!

There are only 3 canneries left in Norway, and only one for sardines.  The canning business has moved to Eastern Europe where not only is labor cheaper, but the demand for cheap, canned fish is greater.  Norwegians now prefer smoked salmon and sushi!