The North Atlantic Oscillation is the dominant atmospheric driver of North Atlantic climate variability with phases corresponding to droughts and cold spells in Europe. Here, we exploit a suggested anti-correlation of North Atlantic Oscillation-phase and north-eastern North Atlantic primary productivity by investigation of south-eastern Norwegian Sea sediment cores spanning the last 8000 years. Age model uncertainties between 2 and 13 years for the period 1992–1850 AD allows for the proxy to observational data calibration. Our data suggest that Ca/Fe core-scanning results reflect sedimentary CaCO ₃ variability in the region. Cross-correlating the Ca/Fe record with nearby phytoplankton counts and dissolved O ₂ data suggests that Ca/Fe can be used as a proxy for primary productivity variability in the region. Our data support an anti-correlation of primary productivity to the winter North Atlantic Oscillation index. Hence, we propose a sub-decadally resolved palaeo-North Atlantic Oscillation reconstruction based on an open-ocean record spanning the last 8000 years.