Исландияның ашытылған акуласы - Хакарль

National dish of Iceland consisting of fermented shark

Hákarl (an abbreviation of kæstur hákarl ), referred to as fermented shark in English, is a national dish of Iceland consisting of Greenland shark or other sleeper shark that has been cured with a particular fermentation process and hung to dry for four to five months. It has a strong ammonia rich smell and fishy taste, making hákarl an acquired taste. Fermented shark is readily available in Icelandic stores and may be eaten year round, but is most often served as part of a Þorramatur, a selection of traditional Icelandic food served at the midwinter festival þorrablót.

Fermented shark contains a large amount of ammonia and has a strong smell, similar to that of many cleaning products. It is often served in tiny cubes on toothpicks. Those new to it may gag involuntarily at the first attempt to eat it because of the high ammonia content. Hákarl comes in two varieties: chewy and reddish glerhákarl (, lit. "glassy shark") from the belly, and white and soft skyrhákarl (, lit. "skyr shark") from the body.

The meat of the Greenland shark is poisonous when fresh because of its high urea and trimethylamine oxide content. However, when properly processed, it may be consumed safely. The traditional method begins with gutting and beheading a shark and placing it in a shallow hole dug in gravelly sand, with the cleaned cavity resting on a small mound of sand. The shark is then covered with sand and gravel, and stones are placed on top of the sand in order to press the fluids out of the body. The shark ferments in this fashion for six to twelve weeks, depending on the season. Following this curing period, the shark is cut into strips and hung to dry for several months. During this drying period, a brown crust will develop, which is removed prior to cutting the shark into small pieces and serving. The traditional preparation process may be observed at Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum on Snæfellsnes. The modern method is simply to press the shark's meat in a large plastic container, into which drain holes have been cut.

The Greenland shark takes 150 years to reach sexual maturity, with some sharks living up to 400 years. Due to this, hunting of the Greenland shark is unsustainable and is slowly leading to the potential extinction of the species. As the Greenland shark is the longest living vertebrate in the world, it takes an enormous amount of time for native populations to recover, currently being listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, primarily due to the effects of bycatch. Associations, such as the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, an intergovernmental fishing science and management body, are calling for a ban of the hunting and killing of Greenland shark.