In the Norwegian fisheries only the roe is used, salted and used as caviar. The best fishing takes place in shallow areas from 5 to 40 meters deep, often in the outer parts of the coast that is exposed to the open sea, from Stadt and to the north. Fishing is thus very dependant of the weather, especially since only small boats are used in the shallow areas.
The fishing has recently been considerably hindered by the prevalence of king crab. Fishing for lumpfish east of North Cape was one of the criteria to get a quota of king crab, and this has influenced the increase in participation in recent years.
The market for roe from lumpfish absorbs approximately. 4 000 tonnes of raw roe every year. Most is salted in barrels at landing sites or by the fishers themselves.