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SINTEF in Norway is organizing a conference on pelagic fish on 30 August in collaboration with Matís in Iceland, DTU in Denmark and Chalmers in Sweden.

The conference will be held at the Best Western Oslo Airport Hotel, Gardermoen in Norway. The conference focuses on fishing and processing of pelagic fish, as well as practical research.

Emphasis will be placed on, among other things, the handling of catch on board, processing technology, quality issues, health and the utilization of by-products of pelagic fish.

Among the speakers is Hanne Digre from SINTEF in Norway and she will discuss pelagic fishing as well as handling catch on board. Ingrid Underland from Chalmers University in Gothenburg will talk about protein isolation from pelagic fish and by-products, as well as the development of pelagic fish fat. Henrik H. Nielsen from DTU Denmark will discuss in his presentation the effect of fishing areas and fishing time on the quality of fresh and frozen herring. Sigurjón Arason from Matís will discuss handling and cooling methods for pelagic fish. Ásbjörn Jónsson will discuss fishing methods as well as quality and production management of pelagic fish. Lecturers from the Nordic industry will discuss the opportunities and future of fishing and processing pelagic fish.

Further information about the program, registration etc. can be found on the website SINTEF

There was a lively discussion at the spring conference of the Association of Icelandic Fishmeal Producers, which was held on 8-9. last April at the Grand Hotel. Matís did not give up and had two lectures on his side there.

In his lecture, Lárus Þorvaldsson discussed the cooling of pelagic catch for processing on land. There he went over the results that have been achieved with continuous temperature measurements and follow-up on board the pelagic vessels of Síldarvinnslan, but in addition he presented the possibilities of computerized thermodynamics and hydrodynamics for design, processing control and decision-making in pelagic fishing.

Sigurjón Arason also discussed Matís' research on seasonal fluctuations in the fat and dry matter content of pelagic fish, as well as his input on market conditions and the potential for utilization of various pelagic species. Sigurjón also discussed Matís' work in creating a quality indicator for pelagic fish, but in recent months Matís has developed sensory assessment methods to assess the freshness of pelagic species.

Both lectures aroused great interest among conference guests and it is clear that Matís' research is being closely monitored for the benefit of the Icelandic fisheries sector.

From 14.-15. In April, an international workshop (Workshop) on "Methods for analyzing the risks and benefits of food consumption and dissemination of information to consumers" will be held at Matís' new headquarters.

This workshop is part of the SAFEFOODERA EraNet project on risk and benefit assessment. A total of 23 experts from 8 countries are expected to take part in the meeting.

The aim of the project is to develop methods to analyze the risks and benefits of food consumption and the dissemination of information to consumers. In order to achieve this goal, the intention is to utilize knowledge and experience in risk and benefit analysis that has been built up in other fields of study, such as medicine and pharmacology, microbiology, environmental sciences, sociology and economics, and to transfer as well as adapt the methods to food and nutrition. The intention is to collect data and make use of experience that has been built up in the fields of study that use risk and benefit analysis today, and to transfer this knowledge and develop methods that are suitable in the field of food. 

Matís' role is to collect data and utilize the experience that has been built up in the field of microbiology on risk assessment and transfer this knowledge to develop methods for risk and benefit analysis in food. The work in the project is based on all aspects of risk and benefit analysis, ie risk and benefit assessment, risk and benefit management, risk and benefit presentation.

The conference will feature, among others, Hans Verhagen, who is a highly regarded professional in the field of risk-benefit analysis in food. Hans heads a 45-50-person department working in this field at the RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands. In addition, he holds a professorship at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. The meeting these days is therefore a good opportunity to learn about these issues from those who are among the leaders in their field.  

The agenda of the meeting can be seen here.

On Wednesday 21 April. A day-long conference will be held at Matís' premises at Vínlandsleið on developments in food and environmental analysis.

Further information, such as registration for the conference, can be found here. 

Recently, a course that Matís held with others at Höfn in Hornafjörður ended. The design of the course was done in collaboration with Þekkingarnet, Skinneyjar-Þinganes and FAS (Framhaldsskólinn í Austur-Skaftafellssýsla).

Teaching was usually twice a week in the Skinney-Þinganes building, which was specially equipped as a classroom. The aim of the course was, among other things, to increase staff's knowledge of marine catch processing, strengthen self-confidence and increase their professional skills. Course components included cooperation and team spirit, management, quality in fish processing, food safety and occupational safety.

For further information, please contact Margeir Gissurarson, margeir.gissurarson (at) matis.is.

Information about courses offered by Matís can be found here.

Recently, the results of a study were published in which Matís employees participated, among other things together with the American Space Agency (NASA), to study the ecosystem in Skaftárkötlar.

There is the first information about the ecosystem of Skafárkatlar, which is under 300 m thick ice. This article describes the ecosystem in the western cauldron, but the ecosystem in the eastern Skaftár cauldron was being studied, but there are two of them and Skaftárhlaup comes from them. 

The research is part of the project "Secrets of Skaftárkatla".

To analyze the diversity of the ecosystem, a 454 FLX sequencer was used, but Matís has such equipment in its premises in Reykjavík. With this equipment you can view the diversity of microorganisms much better and faster than before.

For further information, contact ViggóMarteinsson, viggo.th.marteinsson@matis.is.

In addition, you can see information about the article here.

Friday, April 9 approx. a doctoral defense will be held at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Iceland. Then Rannveig Björnsdóttir, an employee of Matís, defends his doctoral thesis "Bacterial flora in the early stages of plum farming".

Doctoral dissertation in life and medical sciences from the Faculty of Medicine at the School of Health Sciences, University of Iceland.

Bacterial flora in the early stages of halibut farming

Next Friday 9 April. doctoral defense at the University of Iceland School of Medicine. Rannveig Björnsdóttir is defending her doctoral dissertation "Bacterial flora during the early stages of halibut farming".Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.). Opponents are dr. Brian Austin, Professor and Director of the Fisheries Institute at the University of Stirling in Scotland and dr. Gunnsteinn Ægir Haraldsson, director of research-related studies at the University of Iceland School of Medicine. The supervisor was dr. Bjarnheiður K. Guðmundsdóttir, specialist at the University of Iceland Laboratory of Pathology at Keldur and adjunct professor at the University of Iceland School of Medicine, and in addition to her, the doctoral committee included dr. Eva Benediktsdóttir, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, dr. Helgi Thorarensen, professor at the Faculty of Aquaculture and Fish Biology at Hólar University, dr. Jakob K Kristjánsson, CEO of Prokazyme Ltd. and dr. Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís ohf.

Dr. Guðmundur Þorgeirsson, professor and president of the Faculty of Medicine, will chair the ceremony, which will take place in room 132 in Askja and will begin at 13:00.

Abstract from the study
The results of the doctoral project shed more light on the development of bacterial flora in the early stages of halibut farming and the possible effects of the composition of the flora on survival and development from egg fertilization to the end of initial feeding. Severe and sudden declines are a problem in these first and most sensitive stages of rearing, and not least in the first weeks of feeding when the larvae need live feed animals. The results also show that changes in environmental factors had a significant effect on the number and composition of the bacterial flora, as it was possible to stimulate non-specific larval immunity in the treatment of food animals with hydrolysed fish proteins and improved survival in the treatment of feed animals with bacterial strains prevalent in the gastrointestinal tract. The results also indicate that the predominant part of the flora of larvae and their feed animals can to a large extent be arable.

The project was carried out in collaboration Matís ohf. and the University of Akureyri and in close collaboration with Fiskey hf. Other partners were the University of Iceland Laboratory of Pathology at Keldur, the University of Tromsø in Norway, Iceprotein ehf. and Hólar University.

The project was funded by the Rannís Technology Development Fund, the AVS Fisheries Research Fund, the Biotechnology Network in Resource Utilization, the University of Akureyri Research Fund and the KEA University Fund. 

About the doctoral dissertation
Rannveig Björnsdóttir was born in 1959. She graduated from Menntaskólinn að Laugarvatn in 1980, Cand. mag. degree from the University of Fisheries in Tromsø, Norway in 1988 and Cand.scient. degree in immunology and fish diseases from the same school in 1990. Since 1991, Rannveig has worked part-time as a specialist at the Fisheries Research Institute and later as head of department and director of aquaculture at Matís ohf. and part-time as an assistant professor and then associate professor at the Department of Fisheries and later the Department of Natural Resources at the University of Akureyri. Rannveig began her doctoral studies at the University of Iceland School of Medicine in 2004. Rannveig is the daughter of the couple Björn Benediktsson, who was responsible for the development of Silfurstjörn hf. in Öxarfjörður and Ásta Björnsdóttir, housewife. Rannveig has one grown daughter, Hugrún Lísa.

For further information, please contact Rannveig Björnsdóttir, tel. +354 858 5108, e-mail: rannveig.bjornsdottir@matis.is or rannveig@unak.is