Matís 2010 annual report has now been published. An electronic version can be found on Matís' website.
Matís 2010 annual report in electronic form can be found here.
Category: News
Just now, the first meeting of a new and extensive multinational project that the European Union has decided to support for three years was coming to an end. EcoFishMan.
The meeting has, among other things, discussed whether a common fisheries policy Of the European Union has delivered the expected results. Suffice it to say that close to 90% fish stocks in the jurisdiction of EU countries are overfished and a third of the stocks are in danger of extinction because they fail to regenerate. Discards are a major problem, for example it is estimated that 30-55% cod catches from the North Sea are discarded.
The European Union expects the EcoFishMan project to develop a new methodology that will be useful in changing and reforming its fisheries management system.
Following on from this introductory meeting, emphasis will be placed on co-operation with fishermen, fishing and processing and on the utilization of information from electronic catch diaries. The aim of the project is to promote environmentally friendly, sustainable and economic management with a special emphasis on traceability and to minimize discards. One of the goals of the EcoFishMan project is to analyze what has been successful in Icelandic fisheries management and pass on that experience. At the same time, there are plans for more co-operation with those who work in fishing and processing in the fishing industry.
Among the Icelandic parties that will be approached for professional knowledge are Directorate of Fisheries, Association of Fish Processing Plants, National Association of Icelandic Fishermen, Marine Research Institute, Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, National Association of Small Boat Owners and several Icelandic companies that produce technical equipment for the fishing industry, such as Trackwell, Vaki and Marel.
Those who attended this first meeting included members from Matís, Eurofish (DK), CETMAR (ES), The Bitland Enterprise (FO), the University of Iceland, the National Research Council / Institute of Marine Sciences (IT), Nofima Marin (NO) , University of Tromsø (NO), Centro de Ciências do Mar (PT), IPIMAR (PT), MAPIX technologies Ltd (UK), Marine Scotland Science (UK) and Seafish (UK).
For further information Sveinn Margeirsson CEO of Matís.
News from Stöðvar 2's newsroom from the meeting can be found here.
The 2011 Agricultural Research Council will be held from 10 to 11 March at Hótel Saga. The congress is a collaborative project of 9 institutions related to agriculture in one way or another.
This time the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull will be in focus, but in a seminar about it, the impact on society, farming, wildlife and vegetation will be discussed. There will be an extensive program on horse breeding and equestrianism and we will look to the future regarding forestry in this country. Traditional seminars on animal husbandry, agriculture, product utilization, facilities and monitoring will be in place. Aquatic life and fish farming will be discussed in a broad context.
Matís plays a leading role in a new and extensive multinational project that the 7th Framework Program for Research and Development in Europe (FP7) has decided to support for three years, EcoFishMan. The inaugural meeting of the project will take place at Matís on 8 and 9 March.
The EU's grant amounts to a total of EUR 3 million, equivalent to about ISK 475 million. Of this, Matís' share is a total of 450,000 or the equivalent of over ISK 70 million. That EcoFishMan The project involves a total of 13 institutions, companies and universities in eight European countries, including the University of Iceland and the University of Tromsø in Norway. Dr. Anna Kristín Daníelsdóttir, division manager at Matís, is project manager and dr. Sveinn Margeirsson, Matís' CEO, will be with her on the project's scientific committee.
The European Union's Common Fisheries Policy does not deliver the desired results. Suffice it to say that close to 90% fish stocks in the jurisdiction of EU countries are overfished and a third of the stocks are in danger of extinction because they fail to regenerate. Discards are a major problem, for example it is estimated that 30-55% cod catches from the North Sea are discarded.
The European Union expects the EcoFishMan project to develop a new methodology that will be useful in changing and reforming its fisheries management system. Emphasis is placed on co-operation with fishermen, fishing and processing and on the utilization of information from electronic catch diaries. The aim of the project is to promote environmentally friendly, sustainable and economic management with a special emphasis on traceability and to minimize discards. One of the goals of the EcoFishMan project is to analyze what has been successful in Icelandic fisheries management and pass on that experience. At the same time, there are plans for more co-operation with those who work in fishing and processing in the fishing industry.
Among the Icelandic parties that will be approached for professional knowledge are Directorate of Fisheries, Association of Fish Processing Plants, National Association of Icelandic Fishermen, Marine Research Institute, Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture, National Association of Small Boat Owners and several Icelandic companies that produce technical equipment for the fishing industry, such as Trackwell, Vaki and Marel.
For further information Sveinn Margeirsson CEO of Matís.
Several new brochures have now been printed and electronic versions are available on Matís' website.
Brochures that can be downloaded free of charge at the following URLs:
- DNA research on marine mammals (2010)
- Is your dog intelligent? (2011)
- The weakest in food (2010)
Likewise, the booklet "Valuable facts about Icelandic seafood" has been published, but nobody who sells Icelandic seafood should miss that booklet, as the numbers in the booklet show that Icelandic seafood is clean and uncontaminated. The booklet costs ISK. 3500/pc. and can be accessed by sending mail to matis@matis.is.
A sample of "Valuable facts about Icelandic seafood" can be found here.
Breeding of bait fish (Tilapia) was discussed in Landan recently. Sunday. There, Ragnar Jóhannsson, director of Matís, discussed the possibilities of Icelanders in the industry.
The whole episode can be seen here (the farming discussion comes first) and a summary of the episode can be found here.
At Matís, we work hard on advances in aquaculture. An important factor in this context is research in favor of aquaculture, which aims to improve the quality and increase the efficiency of the industry. The research is conducted in close collaboration with companies, universities and domestic researchers in order to build up the broadest knowledge base that is useful to both Icelandic and foreign aquaculture companies.
The aim of Matís 'and partners' research is to improve the performance, growth and quality of marine fish in the early stages of aquaculture, to develop older and new technologies to increase efficiency in the production of the main commercial species in aquaculture and to find ways to reduce feed costs in aquaculture without compromising the growth of the fish or the quality of the products.
Feed costs are more than half of the operating costs of aquaculture, so it is important to look for ways to reduce them without affecting the growth and health of the fish. Feed research also contributes to the development of more targeted nutrition based on the needs of the fish. Great emphasis is placed on prevention in the first stage of farming, which is the main bottleneck in sea fish farming, and they have a great influence on the life expectancy of the larvae, and thus on the success of the farming.
The main emphasis has been on the use of new lighting technology to delay / exclude puberty during cod rearing. The development of cod farming has been based on knowledge gained from the farming of other species, but it is clear that farming technology is an important focus area for cod farming.
For more information know Ragnar Jóhannsson, director of Matís.
Recently, an article about pelagic fish appeared in Euro Fish Magazine. Ásbjörn Jónsson from Matís is one of the authors.
The article can be seen here.
Pelagic fish include some of the most common fish species caught, such as sardines, mackerel, herring, capelin and blue whiting. Pelagic species are rather few, but despite this the catch is often greater than from other fish species combined. Pelagic fish are often rather small, although larger species also belong to this category, such as swordfish and tuna.
For further information Ásbjörn Jónsson at Matís.
A total of 85 European universities in 30 countries are members of the association, but an Icelandic member association was founded by students at the University of Iceland in 2005 (www.BESTreykjavik.com).
The main purpose of BEST is to offer students of the member universities additional education in the form of short courses as well as to give students the opportunity to get to know the culture and languages of other nations.
It should be noted that the students who found out in this course only have to pay for part of the fare to and from the country, but a grant was received from Europe in Youth for all other costs of the course for each participant.
There was a lot of interest in the course, but in total a large number of European university students applied for participation. As the number of participants was limited, only some came to Iceland for this occasion. The number of applications shows that there is a great interest in educated European young people to learn from Icelanders and get to know a country and a nation.
More information can be found at www.bestreykjavik.com.
A conference on long-term policy-making for the utilization of the ocean's living resources will be held in Bíósal at Hótel Loftleiðir on Friday 25 February.
It starts at 9:00 in the morning and lasts until 16:20. The conference is hosted by the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture and the Marine Research Institute and is entitled "Living resources of the sea - long-term policy and catch rules".
A total of 14 speakers will discuss the topic from various perspectives. Among them will be two foreign guests, Steve Murawsky from NOAA in the USA, who will discuss the US experience of formulating a long-term fisheries management policy, and Paul Dengbol from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), who will discuss ICES 'involvement in catching fisheries management rules. North Atlantic.
AGENDA
Sentence
Mr. Jón Bjarnason, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture
Steve Murawski
On long-term harvesting goals in the US and results of fisheries management in recent years
Kristján Þórarinsson
International conventions, utilization policies and precautionary measures in fisheries management
Jóhann Guðmundsson
Objectives of fisheries management, Icelandic legislation and government attitudes
Friðrik Már Baldursson
Catch rule in cod - 15 years of experience
Daði Már Kristófersson
Fisheries and long-term vision
Einar Hjörleifsson
Utilization policy and catch rules - from policy to action
Matarhlé
Poul Degnbol
Management plans in the ICES advice - development and
experiences (Utilization plans and advice
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea - Development and Experience)
Björn Ævarr Steinarsson
Prerequisites for consulting the Marine Research Institute
Eggert B. Guðmundsson
Ecolabelling and the market's demand for sustainable fishing and long-term utilization policy
Sveinn Margeirsson, CEO of Matís
Utilization of marine resources
Atli Gíslason
Sustainable use of marine resources
Skúli Skúlason
Consultative forum for the development of utilization policy
Jóhann Sigurjónsson
Utilization of fish stocks - a vision for the future
Sigurgeir Þorgeirsson
Summary of conference results and conference closing
Moderators
Hrefna Karlsdóttir and Erla Kristinsdóttir
Everyone welcome!
See more about the conference at www.hafro.is/radstefna
Matís, the Marine Research Institute and Náttúrustofa Vesturlands convene a meeting on food algae to discuss the opportunities and possibilities that can be utilized in Iceland.
The aim of the symposium is to arouse interest and get ideas for actions / projects that promote progress in the utilization of food algae in this country. The seminar is open to everyone, whether it is companies that are processing or interested in food algae, buyers of food algae or an interested public.
Is there a untapped opportunity for value creation in food algae in Iceland? There is an increasing interest in Iceland in the utilization of food algae, but worldwide, trade and their utilization is high and ever-increasing. Algae can be used directly for cooking and from them can also be processed various products that are used in the food industry, agriculture, industry, cosmetics industry, medicine, for the production of bioactive substances and much more. Many species of algae grow off the coast of Iceland and some of them grow to a considerable extent, but their utilization has been limited. With increased knowledge of the processing of substances and food from algae, opportunities are created for small and medium-sized companies that either obtain algae or process products from them. It is important to explore the possibilities for the development of this industry in Iceland with the aim of increasing the diversity of the economy and increasing value creation.
An advertisement can be found here.
Further information: www.matis.is, www.hafro.is and www.nsv.is
Meeting place: Hotel Stykkishólmur
Time: Saturday, February 26, 2011, at 13-16Admission free.
Agenda:
Algae utilization in Iceland; usable species. Karl Gunnarsson, Marine Research Institute
Market for food algae. Auðun Freyr Ingvarsson, Green in Blue
Algae as food. Þóra Valsdóttir, Matís
Healthy, bioactive substances in food algae. Rósa Jónsdóttir / Hörður Kristinsson, Matís
Discussion
Presentations from Íslenskri bláskel, Íslenskri hollusta, Þörungaverksmiðjan, Íslenska Kalkþörungafélagið, Hafkalki, Seaweed Iceland and Gullstein as well as Rúnar Marvinsson, chef at Langaholt, shows how to use algae in cooking.
Chairman of the meeting Róbert A. Stefánsson, Náttúrustofa Vesturlands
Please announce your participation at the e-mail address palmi@nsv.is.
