How did fishing and lumber support Norway’s economy before offshore oil was discovered?

Before the discovery of offshore oil in the late 1960s, Norway’s economy relied heavily on its natural resources, with forestry and fishing serving as foundational pillars.12

• Forestry: Productive forests cover more than one-third of Norway’s land area. This sector provided the basis for a significant wood-processing industry, which remains an important contributor to commodity exports. For many small-scale farmers, forestry served as a vital secondary occupation, offering a necessary source of income to supplement agricultural activities.1
• Fishing: Along the coast, fishing functioned as the economic equivalent of forestry. It supported a large fish-processing industry and provided seasonal employment for many farmers. Historically, the industry operated through a tradition where fishermen owned their vessels and crews were paid in shares of the gross income. Beyond direct food production, the industry fueled various subsidiary sectors, utilizing fish offal for animal feed and processing catches into dried, salted, smoked, or frozen products for export.13

These industries were deeply integrated into the social and economic fabric of coastal and rural Norway, providing both primary livelihoods and essential supplemental income long before the rise of the petroleum sector.1