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A new report has been published by Matís. The report is a summary of previous research on capelin roe.

In recent years and decades, various measurements and research on capelin roe in Iceland have been carried out at Matís ohf / Rannsóknastofnun fiskiðnaðarins. This is primarily a study of microorganisms, egg filling and water content. The report will cover microbial research carried out during the 1984 season, microbiological measurements in the period 2000-2008 and measurements of water content and egg filling 1984-2008.

The information that can be found there is exciting and relevant these days, as people are talking about the importance of capelin for the country's economy.

The full report can be found here.

For further information, please contact Margeir Gissurarson, margeir.gissurarson@matis.is.

Matís' employee, Hrönn Ólína Jörundsdóttir, defended her doctoral dissertation "Temporal and spatial trends of organohalogens in guillemot (Uria algae) in North Western Europe" on February 6, 2009 at Umildfild Stockholm University.

The dissertation deals extensively with persistent organic pollutants in the Nordic countries, such as PCBs and the insecticide DDT, as well as their metabolites, which were mainly measured in long-range eggs. The substances were measured in eggs from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Sweden to obtain a geographical comparison.

The results show that the North Atlantic ecosystem is less polluted than the Baltic ecosystem, but various pollutants were found to be in similar concentrations in these areas and it is necessary to investigate further why this is the case. Fluorinated alkanes, which come from outdoor clothing, have recently been found in significant amounts in nature, measured in long-tailed eggs from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Sweden and were in some cases in higher concentrations in eggs from the North Atlantic than in the Baltic Sea. Brominated fire retardants, which are used in electronics, among other things, were measurable everywhere and it seems that it is possible to identify the different origins of the substances that reach the North Atlantic, on the one hand from North America and on the other from Europe.

A comparison was also made of the amount of pollutants in seven Icelandic bird species, i.e. heron, eider, osprey, elephant, herring gull, black-backed gull and skimmer. The foam was found to have a significant high concentration of pollutants, including PCB compounds and the insecticide DDT, and it is important to study the health condition of the foam.

It is clear that part of the pollution measured in the Icelandic ecosystem travels through ocean and air currents to Iceland, but on the other hand a significant part is due to Icelanders' use of goods that contain various pollutants.

Supervisors were dr. Åke Bergman Professor of Environmental Chemistry at Stockholm University, dr. Professor Anders Bignert, Swedish Museum of Natural History and dr. Mats Olsson Professor Emeritus. The opponent was Dr. Derek Muir, Environment Canada.

The examination committee consisted of dr. Kristín Ólafsdóttir, Associate Professor at the University of Iceland, dr. Björn Brunström, professor at Uppsala University and dr. Conny Östman, Associate Professor at Stockholm University.

For further information, please contact Hrönn, hronn.o.jorundsdottir@matis.is.

On the 19th of March next. at the Hilton-Nordica Hotel, the 2nd MARIFUNC seminar will take place. The organizer of the seminar is Matís.

This is a half-day seminar where the available scientific data on seafood and health, the use and quality of seafood fats and proteins from seafood for the production of functional foods and what consumers' reactions are to seafood target foods will be reviewed. .

Seminar agenda:

What: 2 seminars of the Marifunc project on Seafood and Healthy Materials - What is the state of affairs towards consumers and companies? '
When: 19 March 2009, 8.30 - 12.45
Where: Hilton-Nordica Hotel. Suðurlandsbraut 2, Reykjavík. Meeting room E.

Registration: you need to send an email to Marifunc.registration@matis.is. The name of the participant, e-mail address and where the participant is from (city / country) must be stated. You can also register on site. Admission is free.
Registration deadline: Tuesday, March 17.

Background of the seminar:
The seminar will cover research on the effects of seafood and seafood ingredients on health. The use and quality of fats and proteins used as ingredients in supplements and target foods will also be discussed. The presentation at the seminar is based on the results of the Nordic Network for Marine Functional Food project (MARIFUNC) under the auspices of the Nordic Innovation Center. The seminar is organized by Matís ohf. (www.matis.is) and the Laboratory of Nutrition (www.rin.hi.is).

Schedule (all presentations will be in English): 8.30 Registration and coffee
9.00  Opening and presentation. Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, CEO of Matís ohf., Iceland.
9.10  Introducing MARIFUNC. Joop Luten, Coordinator MARIFUNC, Nofima Marine, Norway.
9.25 Seafood and health- What's the news? Alfons Ramel Laboratory of Nutrition, University of Iceland, Landspítali.
10.25 Coffee break
10.45 Challenges in the use of seafood fats in targeted foods and supplements.  Nina Skall Nielsen, DTU Aqua, Denmark
11.30 Fish protein and peptide products - processing methods, quality and processing properties. Guðjón Þorkelsson / Hörður Kristinsson, Matis ohf., Iceland.
12.15 1-2-3-4 Health. Ola Eide, Olivita, Norway.
12.35 Closing of the seminar

Here is an interesting link on the topic of the seminar.

For further information, please contact Guðjón Þorkelsson, Division Manager, gudjon.thorkelsson@matis.is.

Future Days 2009 will be held on Friday 20 February in the premises of Háskólabíós.

Due to enormous changes in the Icelandic economy and economic situation, a record participation among students can be expected this year. Framadagar is therefore an ideal platform for companies to reach the future workforce of the nation by introducing themselves and their activities and thus gain a certain advantage over the competitive parties in the race for the most qualified staff.

More information can be found at www.framadagar.is and with Jón Haukur Arnarson, jon.h.arnarson@matis.is or Steinar B. Aðalbjörnsson, steinar.b.adalbjornsson@matis.is.

The project was funded by the Student Innovation Fund in the summer of 2008 and was carried out by Hugrún Lísa Heimisdóttir, a student who had completed her first year in biotechnology in the field of resources at the University of Akureyri. The student's project was part of a larger project, “Bætibakteríur í lúðueldi”, which was carried out in collaboration with Matís ohf., The University of Akureyri, Fiskey hf and the University of Hólar with a grant from the Technology Development Fund (2006-2008).

The aim of the project as a whole was to look for possible beneficial bacteria in the halibut farming of Fiskey hf. and which could then be added to the environment of halibut larvae for the purpose of improving the growth and performance of the larvae.

The first few weeks are the main bottleneck in halibut farming and other marine fish, but then the larvae feed on live feed animals. The forage animals carry a large number of bacteria and the larvae at this stage of development need to rely solely on a non-specific immune response. There is therefore great interest in the use of supplementary bacteria in the aim of controlling the composition of bacterial flora in the environment and gastrointestinal tract of larvae and making it more positive for the larvae.

Treatment with a mixture of three types of potential beneficial bacteria turned out to give significantly better results to halibut larvae in the early stages of rearing, and in the student's project the focus was therefore on the other side of the beneficial bacteria, ie. the aspect of the bacterial properties that can be studied and measured in the laboratory. One of the characteristics of powerful supplemental bacteria is to inhibit the growth of unwanted bacteria and the student researched this and various other properties of the bacteria. It is also important to look for cost-effective ways to produce the bacteria in large quantities and store and transport them without losing their properties. Freeze-drying is a convenient and desirable way to store and transport bacteria, and the student examined the growth of the bacteria and their growth-inhibiting effect in both fresh and freeze-dried cultures.

The main results of the project showed that the supplementary bacteria had an inhibitory effect on the growth of dominant bacteria in some samples but little or no effect on the growth of dominant bacteria in other samples. This could indicate that in some larvae the bacterial flora is rich, which has gained a good foothold there and therefore it is difficult to influence the growth of the bacteria. Therefore, it is important to treat with supplemental bacteria early in the breeding process in order for the desired bacteria to gain a foothold there. The results also indicated that the three bacterial strains grow better in the presence of each other than alone.

It can therefore be said that the student's project has shed clear light on the properties of the additive bacteria and the most suitable methods of their production for use in the early stages of halibut farming.

The project was carried out under the guidance of Rannveig Björnsdóttir, lecturer at the University of Akureyri and other experts at Matís ohf. in Akureyri. For further information, contact Rannveig at 422-5108.

The Knowledge Center of the Westman Islands invites representatives of the business community and the public to an open working meeting on 9 February at 17.00 in Alþýðuhúsið.

The aim of the meeting is to introduce the public and representatives of the business community in the Westman Islands to the activities of the Westman Islands Knowledge Center. Discussion groups will also be set up to discuss ideas for projects and how such ideas can become a reality.

Agenda:
A. Introduction of ÞSV employees to their institution or company
1. Vestmannaeyjar Knowledge Center
2. The research service
3. Matís
4. The Business Development Association

Short break

5. Náttúrustofa
6. Surtseyjarstofa
7. The Marine Research Institute
8. Whisper
9. Iceland Innovation Center

B.      Coffee break, posters and slide show

C.      Discussion groups - Let's strengthen the community through good cooperation
Fisheries and employment
Nature and tourism
Education

Three working groups where ÞSV employees and representatives from the business community lead discussions in each group and set out ideas, goals, proposals, etc. Everyone is free to participate in discussion groups.

At the end of the meeting, a short summary will be presented from each discussion group.

Meeting adjourned.