Pickled fish isn't as bad as you'd think, you can pickle in almost whatever you like and so the flavor variations are simply endless and can be made to preference. Fermented, as surströmming is, is probably more of an acquired taste... But you gotta hand it to the swedes of yesteryear, it is actually a very good method of preservation that takes very little resources and time. No need to wait for the fish to dry, no need to use excessive amounts of expensive salt, just lightly salt it, pop it in a can and leave it for later times. One can see why they did it, and it's not mainly for the flavor...
At least we're not quite as mad as the Icelanders. They take a poisonous shark, bury it in the ground until it ferments which neutralizes the posion, dig it up, dry it and serve it with strong liquor. The shark, at this stage, smells strongly of ammonia and has been described as smelling like the mens room while tasting like a urine soaked mattress... Suddenly, a slightly funky and very salty fermented herring (surströmming) doesn't sound so bad huh?
