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Stories from Norway

The Origin of Salmon Sushi: 40-year Anniversary

Did Norway invent salmon sushi? Yes, surprisingly enough, using salmon for sushi is a fairly new way of eating the traditional Japanese dish – introduced by Norway in the 1980’s.

The Origin of Salmon Sushi: 40-year Anniversary

A global sushi star

In 1985, 40 years ago this year, a group of enthusiastic Norwegians packed their suitcases and travelled all the way to Tokyo, Japan. Their goal? Introducing the Japanese to raw, Norwegian salmon – as a sushi topping! 

Salmon, as a species, was not common as a main ingredient for sushi  like so many of us eat it today. Now, the popularity and reach of sushi globally is closely interlinked with the pink, popular fish from Norway – and vice-versa.  

This is the story of how raw Norwegian salmon and exquisite Japanese cuisine became popular, all across the globe. 

Exquisite Japanese Cuisine Meets Raw, Norwegian Quality

Sushi is over a 500-year-old tradition in Japan, but salmon as a sushi topping is a Norwegian invention from the 1980s. “Delegation Listau”, led by former minister of fisheries in Norway Thor Listau, travelled to Japan with one goal in mind - to sell fish to the Japanese.  

The opportunities they saw in the Japanese market led to the beginning of Project Japan. And the biggest potential Project Japan discovered, was this: Norwegian salmon could be the solution for the Japanese, who struggled to obtain enough of their favourite sushi fish – tuna. 

Looking back at the story following Project Japan, the numbers speak for themselves. In 1980, Norway sold two tonnes of salmon to Japan. Twenty years later that number had increased to over 45,000 tonnes. 

How did Project Japan become such a success?

Project Japan’s Ten Years of Work

The dedicated team in Project Japan did not succeed immediately. The Japanese did not like raw Norwegian salmon at first. Using salmon in sushi was not common in Japan because of fear of parasites – a problem that was solved when using farmed salmon from Norway. The trouble was convincing the Japanese of this. 

Project Japan experimented with salmon in sushi dishes, served it to importers, restaurants, at several dinner parties at the Norwegian embassy in Tokyo, and launched a salmon campaign with the few resources they had available. In the end, it was the continued relationship building, trust, and innovation over ten years that were needed to boost salmon consumption in Japan. 

This, in turn, has led to Norwegian salmon's popularity worldwide. Today, Norwegian salmon is not only the world's most popular fish to eat in general, but also the world's most popular sushi fish. This is largely thanks to the delicious, Japanese cuisine that introduced raw salmon to the world.

Strangely enough, the Norwegian origin of the salmon used in this very Japanese dish, is not well-known. Most people regard salmon sushi as a wholly Japanese dish, though the fish itself is from the other side of the world. 

Global Takeover Thanks to Delicious Sushi

Introducing Norwegian salmon through sushi has paved the way for Norwegian salmon exports. 

In 17 of the 20 countries, salmon is the most preferred sushi topping. Norway holds approximately 53 percent of the global salmon market – and export salmon to 113 countries. 

Japan, with its sushi tradition, introduced the world to Norwegian salmon. Now it’s spread to almost the entire globe! Using raw, Norwegian salmon in sushi has also spearheaded the use of salmon in dishes such as sashimi and poke. 

It’s safe to say that sushi has been vital for the popularity of Norwegian salmon – not only as a sushi topping, but now also as an ingredient in a number of other dishes.