In recent times, the demand for sustainable utilization and minimization of environmental impact in food production has increased significantly in markets that are important for our Icelandic fresh fish products.
Requirements for the sustainable utilization of fish stocks have been met with environmental certificates, but information on the overall environmental impact of Icelandic seafood and comparisons with competitive products has been lacking. Therefore, several companies in the production, distribution and marketing of fresh cod fillets joined forces and had a Life Cycle Assessment performed on their products. The results of the study show that the environmental impact of fresh Icelandic cod fillets is relatively low compared to our main competitors in the fisheries sector and much lower than from meat products.
Products from four manufacturers and from seven different fishing vessels sold in the UK and Switzerland were studied and the results compared with comparable research conducted in other parts of the world. There are some differences in the footprint of individual vessels according to size, fishing gear, quota status and fishing pattern, but the average results of the study show that the footprint of fresh cod necks is about 0.8 Kg CO2 equivalent / Kg necks when the catch has been processed. Transport by ship to the UK or Switzerland adds little to the infestation, but if the products are transported by air, the infestation can be tripled, as can be seen in the attached picture.
If these results are compared with the results of similar research from elsewhere, it can be seen that the footprint of Icelandic cod saddles transported by air to the UK is comparable to Norwegian cod and salmon that have been transported by van to Central Europe. If, on the other hand, the saddles are sent by ship, the Icelandic fish comes out much better than the Norwegian one. If the cod necks are compared with other protein sources from the animal kingdom, it can be seen that Icelandic cod has a very limited footprint.
The results of this study have been published in the form of a report, in addition to which a booklet has been published with the main results. Can be accessed the report and the booklet on the websites of Matís and AVS, but the project was funded by AVS.
Further information Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís.