Latvia & the Baltic

The Baltic states, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, produce some of Europe's most underrated smoked and spiced tinned fish. Riga sprats in oil have been exported since the Soviet era, when Latvian canneries supplied the entire USSR with smoked sprat tins. The tradition traces to the 19th century, when the port city of Riga became the first to produce commercially canned smoked sprats at scale. Today Latvia is home to the world's largest sprat manufacturer, Gamma-A, producer of Riga Gold, as well as a cluster of smaller artisan producers including Brivais Vilnis, Diplomats, and Belveder. Lithuania and Estonia maintain their own smoked fish traditions. The category has attracted growing Western interest as tinned fish enthusiasm spreads beyond sardines and tuna.