Category: News

Jónas R. Viðarsson at Matís says in an interview with Fish news published on March 7, that he believes it is clear that in the end, electronic surveillance of cameras will be the only thing that is enough to prevent discards of fish in the European Fleet.

Four years ago, the European Union approved a ban on discards. Around the same time, it was decided to get a group of professionals to develop methods, acquire knowledge and develop technology to reduce discards in the hope that it could be gradually eliminated. This project, which was named DiscardLess, now finished in February after four years of work.

"This project will be created in connection with the discard ban that is being implemented in Europe," says Jónas R. Viðarsson, professional leader at Matís. "The ban was to be implemented slowly from 2016 until January 1, 2019."

Jónas is a representative of one of four Icelandic companies that participated in the DiscardLess project. In addition to Matís, Marel, Hampiðjan and SkipaSýn participated, as well as a subsidiary of SkipaSýn in Poland.

Nothing has changed

Jónas says that the European Union's ban on dumping has in fact fallen through. The goals have not been achieved. Instead of legal discarding, which was previously authorized up to a certain point but with a registration obligation, there is presumably an illegal discarding where nothing is registered and therefore nothing is known about its scope anymore.

"Nothing has changed," says Jónas. "It is not an undesirable force to come ashore now, which presumably means that what was registered discards is just illegal discards today. The authorities have really decided to put only the binoculars in front of the blind eye. ”In reality, they can do little else about what has happened.

"The only reality is that while fishermen are opposed to the ban and the control is not better, there is a discard. The big conclusion is that this is not working. They have been implementing this for four years and there is very little that is coming out of this, "says Jónas.

Numerous solutions

Nevertheless, the DiscardLess project has produced a number of suggestions and solutions that should be able to help reduce discards. On the one hand, they aim to avoid catching unwanted catches and, on the other hand, to extract valuables from the catches that cannot be avoided.

Most of these ideas, however, seem to be difficult to implement, as the situation is very different from what we know here.

"There is always a snag on them somewhere. Some things are difficult, or seem to be, financially viable. We came up with, among other things, three-dimensional drawings of boats and ships, and calculators that should be able to show that this is worth the cost, but the company is very adamant that this is not possible. As long as people get away with continuing discards, this is difficult. "

Chile at the forefront

He says that hopes are mostly limited to electronic surveillance and cameras. A lot of work is put into developing this and the cost should not really be too much for anyone. Denmark has shown considerable ambition to be at the forefront when it comes to the development of electronic surveillance, but this development has probably come a long way in Chile.

"It simply came to our notice then. All vessels over 15 meters engaged in commercial fishing should be subject to camera surveillance.

They have this so that a private company takes over the supervision. They take samples where up to 10% of the recordings are viewed and the state pays the cost. If, on the other hand, there is something in the samples that needs to be examined more closely, then the companies will have to start paying. "

Jónas says that he sees nothing but that electronic surveillance will in the end be the only thing that will finally prevent discards within the European fleet, and this probably also applies in this country.

"There is so little coverage otherwise and the cost of other solutions is also far too high. The cameras also have a deterrent effect and the cost is not that high. ”As an example of the cost of setting up and operating a camera system, Denmark has calculated that the average investment cost of equipment is around EUR 8,000 (ISK 1.1 million) per vessel and that operating cost per year is about 4 thousand EUR (550 thousand ISK) based on looking at about 10% of all sources. For these calculations, the cost was analyzed for 396 vessels and the aforementioned amounts are averaged.

The data is missing

As far as the situation in this country is concerned, a lot of work has been put into fully utilizing the catch, which has yielded more value. The quota system and the possibility of transferring catch quotas have also created flexibility in fishing. Whether this has resulted in less discards, however, is not easy to confirm with statistical data.

"Most of us think that this is in a pretty good condition in this country compared to others, but we have nothing to back it up per se. As the National Audit Office's report shows, our supervision is not good enough. The only thing you can do is try to get a feel for it. "

For years, Jónas has talked to a number of people about discards, both in this country and elsewhere, and read most of what has been written about it in print. In an interview with Fiskifréttir in the autumn of 2017, he stated that fishermen were generally opposed to discards. That would actually be a long story short.

"After this interview appeared, I started getting quite a few phone calls as people were telling me a completely different story. They claimed that there was a significant amount of discarding going on, while the main drought that one hears in one still told one that discarding is not or at a minimum. "

Immediately afterwards, Kveikur came with his detailed discussion of discards, where an ugly picture was drawn.

"These pictures we saw in Kveik were absolutely horrible, and then you even hear stories that people are unloading the bag on deck, straight into the sea, if people do not describe the catch. Others, and in fact most, still claim with one person that the only discard is just some tits that do not take care of it. The only problem is that we need data. Then of course you can ask how much is a lot? "

The publication "From the mountain to quality food" was recently published on the treatment of slaughter lambs and lamb, compiled by Óli Þór Hilmarsson at Matís and Eyþór Einarsson at the Agricultural Advisory Center. Illustrations are by Sólveiga Eva Magnúsdóttir.

The publication summarizes useful guidelines for those involved in the process of making lamb quality food. The guidelines are based, among other things, on research and knowledge from Matís, the Agricultural University of Iceland, the Agricultural Advisory Center and their predecessors, which demonstrate the importance of proper handling of slaughter animals, from gathering mountains and until finished products arrive at meat tables in shops or restaurants. Conditions and treatment before and after slaughter affect the quality and characteristics of the meat.

The publication is available here.

The project DiscardLess formally ended recently with the final meeting of the project held in the premises DTU in Lyngby in Denmark. The project lasted for four years and a total of 31 companies and institutions from 12 countries took part in it.

The main goal DiscardLess was facilitating the implementation of a ban on discards that the European Union has been trying to impose for the last four years, with limited success. At the beginning of 2019, the discard ban was to be fully implemented in all sea areas covered by the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), but it is clear that the ban can still be considered far-reaching. was aimed. Among the participants in the project were the companies Matís, SkipaSýn, Hampiðjan and Marel, and no country had as many representatives as Iceland in the project. The DiscardLess project focused, among other things, on countries that already have experience of dumping bans, with a view to trying to share their experiences, and it is clear that Iceland is being looked at in this regard.

The meeting covered the main phases of the project, obstacles and the next steps.

Here you can access the presentations and results that were presented at the final meeting. 

The North Atlantic Seafood Forum, held in Bergen, Norway, is one of the largest fisheries conferences in the world.

Attendees of the conference are influential people in the international fisheries sector as well as buyers, manufacturers, experts, etc. It can be estimated that the number of guests is around 900 people from 30 countries and approx. 300 companies. The conference will discuss issues that affect the interests of North Atlantic countries in particular. It covers, among other things, innovation, sustainability, supply and marketing; 16 seminars and 150 lectures.

Icelandic parties, companies in production, sales and services in the fisheries sector, parties in the industry's support environment are given the opportunity to participate, promote their products and services internationally, but Matís is one of the participants there.

Matís and the start-up company Codland have worked on projects where the goal is to utilize skin in valuable products.

Collagen is becoming increasingly popular as an active ingredient in various consumer products, but research indicates that there is a link between regular consumption of the substance and positive effects on the skin and joints. The world market for collagen-containing supplements is large and mainly made from pigs. Estimates assume increased demand for collagen peptides made from wild fish, so this is an ideal opportunity for Icelandic production.

The project Hydrolyzed collagen from the raw material of fish processing was recently funded by the Nordic Innovation Center and worked in collaboration with the Norwegian company Biomega, the Danish University of Technology (DTU) and Biosustain also in Denmark together with Matís and Codland. The aim of the project was, among other things, to develop new enzymes to process collagen from extra raw materials from white wild fish such as cod and fatty fish such as salmon.

Videos about the project can be found here.

For the next three years, Matis will be working with the University of Iceland and 13 other universities and institutions in Europe on the IValueFood project, which is intended to promote better health for consumers and support the food industry in Europe. 

This will be done by improving the knowledge and interest of future generations in food and food production. Recent methods, such as promotion through games, cooking interest groups, experiments with new cooking methods, twinning and "science meet food" will be used to increase the interest and knowledge of young consumers, from primary school to university, about food. Thus, the intention is to form a vanguard of young individuals who share values about food.

The project will involve various food companies and stakeholders, and the food industry will work with young consumers to define food values. Emphasis will be placed on areas within Europe where food interest and knowledge need to be increased in order to encourage future generations to make sensible and informed decisions in their food choices.

IValueFood is part of and funded by the large European Food Knowledge and Innovation Community, which aims to transform the environment of food production, processing and consumption by connecting consumers with companies, entrepreneurs, scientists and students across Europe. EIT Food supports new, sustainable and cost-effective solutions to improve consumer health and to ensure access to safe, high-quality food that has the least impact on the environment.

The ocean-related emphasis in the Icelandic Presidency - Good Roads - in the Nordic Council of Ministers was formally launched last week when the inaugural meeting of the project was held in Matís. 

The issue of the ocean and the blue bioeconomy is at the forefront during Iceland's presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers this year. Under the emphasis - The sea, blue growth in the north - are defined three projects that Iceland places special emphasis on in this presidency plan, but they are Nordmar Hafnir, on ports as centers of innovation and energy exchange, NordMar Plast, on solutions to the threat that plastic in the oceans poses to the ecosystem and our livelihoods and NordMar Lífiðjuver, about the possibilities inherent in the blue bioeconomy and the full utilization of raw materials and the processing of increasingly valuable products from marine resources.

These projects were formally launched on Thursday last week at the inaugural meeting of Hafsinn - blue growth in the north, which was held in Matís. Geir Oddson, an expert in the Nordic Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, opened the meeting with a presentation of the presidency program, followed by presentations on each project. Hrönn Jörundsdóttir from Matís leads NordMar Plast, Bryndís Björnsdóttir leads NordMar Lífiðjuver and Jákup Sørensen from the Nordic-Atlantic Partnership (NORA) leads NordMar Hafnir.

In the afternoon, the groups met separately to review work processes and work packages, and participants had the opportunity to get to know each other and exchange ideas regarding the projects.

Yesterday, a new agreement was signed between the University of Iceland and Matís ohf on research, innovation and teaching.

With this agreement, Matís and the University of Iceland want to lay the foundation for further strengthening of theoretical and practical education in the field of food research and food safety through close collaboration in the field of research and innovation. To this end, emphasis will be placed on collaboration in research and innovation, including guidance for master's and doctoral students in projects related to Matís and collaboration on the utilization of research tools and equipment.

The role of the University of Iceland is to bear professional responsibility for studies, teaching, study materials, leveling, examinations, the awarding of degrees at the end of studies and to ensure that staff in charge of teaching and research on behalf of the University of Iceland meet academic requirements.

The connection between education and training with the business community and society is the common thread in Matís' collaboration with educational institutions. Matís' role in conducting research and innovation for the benefit of the economy, public health and food security is guided. The purpose of the collaboration is to:

• increase the skills and possibilities of research staff and to be involved in and lead national and international projects with an emphasis on Iceland's interests.
• educate and train staff for the Icelandic food industry and Icelandic society
• share staff, facilities and equipment to be able to conduct intensive research in a cost-effective manner
• can acquire, execute and deliver projects quickly and efficiently  

This is done by:

• hire joint staff
• hire doctoral students for projects under the auspices of Matís, which in most cases are carried out in collaboration with companies in Iceland
• offer students master's degree projects that are usually carried out in collaboration with companies and / or institutions

In the fan version of Ægis, which was published on the occasion of 100 years of Iceland's sovereignty, the career of Sigurjón Arason, Matís' chief engineer and professor of food engineering at the University of Iceland, was discussed in detail. Here are a few snippets from the interview.

Sigurjón started plowing in the cold store in Norðfjörður when he was 10 years old and Sigurjón tried his hand at seafaring with his father during his teenage years in Hornafjörður and that was the beginning of his studies related to the fishing industry.

"Ever since I was on the boat in Hornafjörður in the past, it has been my motto that everything we fish should be handled correctly and well. Fish is a delicate raw material and difficult to handle, "says Sigurjón.

During his university years, Sigurjón worked for the State Fisheries in the summer and went, among other things, between all the cold stores in Iceland, 1972-1974, which then numbered over two hundred, to monitor the hygiene. The purpose was to prepare a new regulatory framework in this area, the so-called Red Handbook, and thereby meet the standards required by fish buyers in the United States.

After graduating from university, first in chemistry from the University of Iceland and then process engineering at the University of Copenhagen (DTU), Sigurjón joined Atlas Sabroe.

At the end of September 1978, Sigurjón was invited to come home and take over the position of head of the technical department of the Fisheries Research Institute. He accepted the offer. From the very first months, he started teaching fish industry technology and food engineering at the University of Iceland, and since then he has taught at both the University of Iceland and the University of Akureyri.

As is well known, the Fisheries Research Institute merged into Matís at the time, but a common thread in the daily projects of Sigurjón and colleagues has always been to improve processing processes and increase the value of seafood.

Everything is based on the same theories

"One of the things we worked on at that time was cooling the blue whiting to minus one degree, supercooling, to stop the decomposition. The blue whiting fishery ceased shortly afterwards, but the knowledge was used by us again a few years ago when mackerel began to be fished here by land in the jurisdiction during the summer. We also managed to develop a technology that made it possible to create great value from mackerel even though it was not at the most suitable time for processing. But in addition to knowledge that has been built on processing technology, refrigeration technology has also advanced over the years and created a basis for improving the quality of raw materials, "says Sigurjón.

"We are thus always hammering the same theories into the foundation and using them in, for example, research and student projects that are returned directly to the discipline."

Quality thinking in the fisheries sector is quite common in the industry today, but we still always need to sharpen it and be aware of issues that need to be fixed, for example in terms of fish handling, icing, bleeding and more. "

Inexhaustible opportunities for increased value creation

With the shortening of the vessels' fishing trips, Sigurjón says that a basis has been created for the production and export of fresh fish, which has since become an important part of demersal fish processing in Iceland in recent years.

"Developments in white fish have been very rapid and we have come a long way. But there are still endless opportunities to do better, and my message to the government is to spit again in terms of contributions to the AVS research fund on increasing the value of seafood, which has been a financial issue in recent years. The companies in the industry see that the way to take advantage of the opportunities and possibilities is based on knowledge and research. That foundation must therefore be strengthened. "

Photographer: Kristinn Ingvarsson / UI

A very interesting collaborative project between Dermos and Matís has just begun, where the intention is, among other things, to study the effects of fats from halibut, for example on skin diseases.

When Guðbjörn Björnsson, co-owner of Dermos, was a district doctor in the East Fjords, several years ago, he heard people talking about fishmongers, who recovered greatly from psoriasis and eczema when they worked barefoot with halibut. He then decided, in consultation with a dermatologist, to make a fertilizer from the fat of halibut. The fertilizer was tested on patients with these skin diseases and a good recovery was achieved, but due to a lot of fish and the smell of fish oil, they stopped the tests. Fatty acid treatment has been widely used since this experiment was performed.

The aim of the project is to make fertilizer from fatty halibut, limit the smell that was previously too strong and create a natural fertilizer that can treat the disease more effectively than other substances on the market.

The project is funded by the Technology Development Fund and project management at Dermos.

The drawing of the halibut is by Jón Baldur Hlíðberg, fauna.is