Frozen, fresh and pure

Fresh lumpfish roe is very popular in Scandinavia as a herald of spring with its very short season from February to April. In Greenland, the season is later due to the lower water temperature and Royal Greenland has just closed the deal on the last barrels of the season. This new season is especially exciting to us at Royal Greenland, because a part of the catch will be sold as frozen, fresh roe, of which the first batches are about to hit the market, making the delicacy available year round.

Fresh roe of high quality

When the small-scale fishermen deliver their catches at the factory, the temperature and freshness is immediately checked and the barrels with fresh roe are taken to the cooling storage ready for processing. During the fishing season the factories are fully staffed in both weekends and holidays to receive and process the fishermen’s catches as quickly as possible. The fresh roe is simply cleansed, lightly salted, stored in tubs of 100 or 225 g before being frozen.

Natural frozen roe

The natural frozen roe is processed within 24 hours after catch ensuring a 100% fresh and ready-to-eat product. As opposed to many other lumpfish roe products on the market, neither colourings nor other additives are added. This ensures a deliciously clean and natural flavour. We recommend that the roe is defrosted slowly in refrigerator and then rinsed in cold water and salted to the preferred taste. – leaving you in control of the salt content.

The roe that is not frozen fresh is stored in strong salt brine and shipped to Royal Greenland's factory in Cuxhaven, Germany, where it is pasteurized and put in glass or plastic containers. Read more here

Small scale fishery

In the smaller settlements along the coast of West Greenland, lumpfish roe is among the only products that can be landed. Therefore, it is a significantly contributing factor to progress in the more isolated communities along the west coast. Royal Greenland operates 12 factories of various sizes where lumpfish roe is bought from local fishermen. In Greenland, most of the lumpfish fishermen operate 10-15 gill-nets each. When weather conditions permits, the nets are emptied on a daily basis to ensure that the fish and roe are absolutely fresh. Right after the net is emptied the fisherman cuts the fish open and carefully takes out the roe which is put in clean barrels. The fisherman is responsible for logging where and when the roe is taken out and for ensuring that the roe is kept at low temperature until it arrives at the factory.