Fishing in Norway 2026: export quota, halibut, sizes, reporting

Checked on 05.10.2026. Every rule below was read on the official page linked at the end of its paragraph. Rules in Norway move from year to year, so check the source before you travel.

Our camp is a registered tourist fishing business. That matters for two things: the export of fish and the daily catch report. Both are explained here, with what the camp does and what you do.

Export quota 2026

In 2026 the export quota is 15 kg of fish or fish product per person. You can use it up to two times per year. You must be 12 or older, and the fish must come from a trip with a registered tourist fishing business where you also stayed. Trophy fish count inside the quota, not on top of it. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

The quota speaks of «fish or fish product», so fillets count. How round weight converts to fillet weight is not stated on the page, so we give no conversion. The customs page gives the same values. Source: Tolletaten

The rules do not cover salmon, trout, char or freshwater fish. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

The export document

When you take fish out of the country, you must be able to show that the fishing took place with a registered tourist fishing business. The document is individual, one per person, never for a group. The person named on it must travel with the fish. It carries your name, date of birth and home address, the business name, address and organisation number, the stay and fishing period, the date of issue and the signature of a responsible person at the camp. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

The camp may issue the document only after your catch has been reported. Ask for it before the last evening, not on the morning of departure. How you pack the fish for the flight is a separate topic, see bringing fish home.

Halibut rules

The minimum size for halibut is 84 cm. For your own use you only follow the length in centimetres. The weight rule of 7.2 kg applies to fish that will be sold, and tourists may not sell their catch. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

All halibut over 2 metres, and headless halibut over 1.6 metres, must be released. This applies in all Norwegian waters, to every angler, whether the fish is alive, dying or dead. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

North of 62°N the halibut is protected from and including 20 December to and including 20 April. In that period all viable halibut must be released. The rule applies to all gear. Vikran lies north of 62°N, so it applies here. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet Legal basis: § 39 of the harvesting regulation (høstingsforskriften) bans fishing for halibut north of 62°N from and including 20 December to and including 20 April. Halibut rules checked on 08.10.2026. Source: Lovdata

More about the fishery itself in halibut fishing at Rystraumen.

Minimum sizes

Rystraumen is a strait inside the baselines, so the 55 cm value for cod probably applies at the lodge. Confirm with Fiskeridirektoratet before you rely on 44 cm. Fish below the minimum size go back at once. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

Daily catch reporting: camp and guest

Registered tourist fishing businesses must report catches every day, after each fishing trip. The duty covers cod, halibut, redfish, wolffish and saithe. Trips without a catch are reported too, and so are released fish. The report counts fish, not kilograms, and it applies whatever your nationality. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

The camp sends the report, through an approved system. It cannot be sent by post, e-mail or fax. You do one thing: tell us what you landed and what you released, after every trip. Without the report the camp may not issue your export document. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

The amendment to the tourist fishing regulation behind this took effect on 1 August 2025. Source: Lovdata

Gear, fish farms and selling

Tourist anglers may use handheld tackle only, such as line and rod. Nets, pots, traps and longlines are not allowed for foreign tourists. Do not fish within 100 metres of a fish farm, and keep boat traffic at least 20 metres from the farm and its moorings. You cannot sell your catch. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

Live animals or fish may not be used as bait. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

Boat and safety rules

In boats under 8 metres everyone wears suitable flotation gear while the boat is under way. The authority says it plainly: always wear a life jacket at sea. Source: Lovdata, Småbåtloven

Over 0.8 per mille alcohol in the blood is unfit to drive a small boat, and the driver must in any case be fit to operate it safely. At our camp the rule is simpler: no alcohol or drugs at the helm. Source: Lovdata, Småbåtloven

Anyone born on 1 January 1980 or later who operates a boat with more than 25 hp, or longer than 8 metres, needs a boating licence. Both of our boats have engines above 25 hp. Source: Sjøfartsdirektoratet

A licence from another EEA country is valid according to its content. An ICC must include coastal navigation. Other foreign licences count if they meet the Norwegian requirements in all material respects and are written in a Scandinavian language or English. Whether a UK licence is accepted: ask before you travel. Source: Sjøfartsdirektoratet

Protected species

Totally protected: basking shark, spiny dogfish, porbeagle and silky shark, blue ling, common eel and lobster with external roe. Bluefin tuna may not be fished without a special permit. Fishing for lumpfish is banned in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. Lobster is protected from 1 January to 1 October at 08:00 in the northern counties. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

North of 62°N it is forbidden to fish redfish, except with a jig from 1 June to 31 August. In September redfish is therefore not a target. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

What changes on 1 January 2027

Checked on 05.10.2026.

From 1 January 2027 the export quota is 10 kg per person, still up to two times per year, instead of 15 kg. The other conditions stay as described above: age 12 or older, a registered tourist fishing business, an individual document. If you book for 2027, plan your packing for 10 kg. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

Halibut stays protected from 20 December 2026 to 20 April 2027, both days included. Minimum sizes moved in 2025 when halibut went to 84 cm, so we re-check them before every season. Source: Fiskeridirektoratet

Plan your trip

The lodge, the boats and the seasons are on the fishing page. The price list shows what is included. Our guide to your first trip to Tromsø covers the journey.