The Herring Lady
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The bronze statue “Sildekona” was erected in the honour of all the “sildekoner” (herring women) once working in Ålesund. In 1898, drift net fishing was started on a trial basis, to catch large herring. This started a period of almost 70 years, where the annual harvest of “the silver of the ocean” gave Ålesund the name “Storsildbyen” (the city of the big herring). The fishing fleet was motorized and mechanized in the years leading up to WW I, and the fishing areas kept being expanded. The city’s economy was, at this point, very dependent on export of herring, and even though “sildekonene” were paid modestly, their work on placing the herring in barrels for salting and export was extremely important, and ensured that high quality could be transported out into the world.