There were rich spring cod years in the former century outside Øygarden. History tells us of the “inside fjord farmers” who got up at three in the morning to be ready to fish before sunrise. And for the entire day, while they waited to pull up the seine, they had to manage without food. Many lodged with relatives or friends, while many set up their own fisherman’s shacks or “fjord sheds”. These were small timbered sheds covered with bark and peat. The shack had two rooms – a front room – “skot” – where they kept fuel, kegs and barrels for salting the take-home fish, and room for clothes and equipment. The living room was both a room for staying and sleeping in, with stove, long table and benches. On both sidewalls there were three layers of bunk beds. Here a boat-team usually kept house, consisting most often of six men. In the 1840s there were more than 20 such sea shacks at Herdlevær and Skogsøy, but formerly there were many more. The term for these shacks derives from Old Norse, “fjarðmadr” – fjord man – a person living by a fjord.
A mountain at Herdlevær still carries the name of Kartveitfjellet. In the shelter of this mountain a fish team from Kartveit in Manger had their fisherman’s shack. Here was fine sandy ground, which made it easier to pull up of the boats when a storm threatened. Further south on the island, Skjelanger and Husebø had their shacks, and in Skogsøy were the Toske shacks – fisherman’s shacks for the people from Toska and Manger.
Recent research has shown that this tradition goes right back to prehistoric times.
