When the trawl is winched aboard, the chilly October air is filled with anticipation. The first trawl has been going on for hours. Tension gives way to joy when the net breaks surface and finally reveals its contents – thousands upon thousands of vendace quivering in the nets. To the untrained eye the glittering little silver fish do not appear to be worth the time and effort. But it is what the eye does not see that makes the vendace so desirable. Its belly hides one of the noblest of the world’s delicacies, the unique “Kalix löjrom” or vendace caviar.