The fish drying racks are no longer a common sight in East Finnmark and these three pointed fish drying racks in Vestre Jakobselv are now important landmarks in the cultural landscape. They were erected by Vestre Jakobselv Fishermen's Cooperative in 1956-1957. Each is about 50m long and 10m tall and wide. They are constructed using metal from old railway tracks and slim, round and smooth logs. These racks were used for drying cod, pollock and small haddock. Where the pollock was dried the logs were replaced by metal wire. When the ice melts on the river it generates a good draught that makes ideal drying conditions.

There are also flat top fish drying racks in Vestre Jakobselv. These were also built in wood and are about 2.4m tall. The fish is hung on logs resting on trestles. None of these are left on the west side of the river, but there are still some on the opposite side.

New regulations for positioning of fish drying racks were introduced during the reconstruction era. One of the requirements was that they were to be placed away from residential areas.
In an internal undated memorandum the county architect at the time explained the rational behind this: “Fish drying racks are usually associated with bad smell and fly infestation. Even if this is not a health hazard, the drying racks are usually placed away from residential areas. However, this doesn’t always happen. Where the fishing station owner has the right to use all the land near by, he may prefer to keep the fish drying racks as close to the processing point as possible to save on transportation, hence these areas may be surrounded by houses.”