Category: News

Contact

Sæmundur Elíasson

Project Manager

saemundur.eliasson@matis.is

Five companies, with support from the Technology Development Fund and the AVS Fund, are currently working on the development of a new system in high-speed fishing boats that ensures good handling, cooling and finishing of catches and records information in a cloud.

The companies are Frostmark ehf. which produces cooling equipment, Trefjar ehf. which produces Cleopatra fast fishing boats, the fishing company Blakknes ehf. which makes such boats, Sæplast which produces pots and Matís, which directs the research aspects of the project.

Fiber boats are very productive, but there are some problems with installing a controlled cooling system in these boats. Frostmark has designed a new type of sea cooling system that circulates cold seawater at consistently low temperatures. 

In this project, a fully equipped system for high-speed fishing boats will be designed, which delivers cooled catch directly to a tank in a train, where recycled cooling sea is used in a bleeding tank on deck. The benefit to the fishing industry is well-cooled catch, which gives the possibility of processing into more expensive products and strengthens the competitiveness of fast-fishing boats. 

News about the project was published recently Morgunblaðið.

The entrepreneurial company Margildi recently received the international iTQi (International Taste & Quality Institute) Superior Taste Award for food quality awards for its herring halibut. The award was presented at a ceremony in the historic Cercle Royal Gaulois, in Brussels in the presence of a large crowd. According to Margildi's employees, it is considered quite an art to make fish oil (omega-3) so good that 135 master chefs and foodies like it.

The award was given for Margildi's herring halibut both with and without orange flavor. The award is comparable to the Michelin stars of the restaurant and hotel industry, and Margildi is a real pleasure to be a country and a nation to be honored in this way.

The award is a great recognition and will strengthen the marketing of Margildi's herring halibut, as retailers in the consumer market will be allowed to label the herring halibut with iTQi certification boards that confirm the taste quality of the halibut.

Margildi's unique patented production method for herring halibut contributes to almost twice the utilization of raw halibut from herring, capelin and mackerel by processing it for human consumption instead of animal husbandry. This is, among other things, an environmental issue, because by making it possible for people to consume fish oil directly, an intermediary can be omitted, which is the digestive tract of animals such as salmonids. Margildi therefore works to direct the use of fish oil as much as possible into liquid form as a dietary supplement and also as an additive in food, the so-called target diet. This enables more people to consume omega-3s while reducing the use of packaging. 

Margildi works in collaboration with several Icelandic companies on the development of healthy foods that contain omega-3 from fish oil, such as fresh pasta, snacks from butter, skyr, Icelandic rapeseed oil mixture, bread and more.

Entrepreneurial companies such as Margildi need a strong support network of public and private parties to get started. Without the financial support of the current shareholders of Margildi, AVS, the Fisheries Research Fund, the Rannís Technology Development Fund, the East Iceland Development Fund, the Ministry of Industry and Innovation, Íslandsbanki and TM, this would not have been possible. This also applies to invaluable collaboration with other parties such as Matís, the University of Akureyri, Síldarvinnslan, HB Grandi, Loðnuvinnslan, Eskja, Skinney Þinganes, Ísfélagið, Vinnslustöðin, Efla, Alta, Kanon, KPMG, Samhenta, Sjávarútvegsráðstefnun, Sjávarklasann. party.

Margildi's award list has been sold to Europe and the USA and will go on sale in Iceland at the end of the summer under a new brand and it is likely that more members will be added to the group soon.
Margildi continues to work steadily on further research, product development and product marketing, as well as preparations for the construction of its own fish oil factory.

Photos from the award ceremony can be found found on the Debatty website.

Margildi was founded in 2013 by Erling Viðar Leifsson and Snorri Hreggviðsson.

More information on Margildi's website

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

Here before, it was considered a sign of great catch claw and good catch to come ashore with so much catch that people could not get around the deck themselves without wading fish up to the waist. Fortunately, this has changed considerably in recent years, as fishermen are more aware of the importance of good handling of our precious seafood. 

The National Association of Small Boat Owners (LS) and Matís have in recent years been responsible for an effort where small boat fishermen are encouraged to take good care of all catches. A special project, Beautiful Fish, was tailored around this effort but on Facebook page of the project people share pictures that show different treatment of catch. It is safe to say that the beautiful fish has attracted attention. 

Most recently, all small boat fishermen received a thermometer as a gift along with a booklet from LS and Matís. A good package therefore found about 1000 small boat sailors, all around the country. 

The purpose of the project - the importance of good handling of catch

For many reasons, small boat owners have a unique opportunity to gain a unique position in the markets with their products. By drawing attention to the improved handling of catches, special attention is being paid to the possibility of increasing quality through cooling, not least due to the short time from fishing to processing, which is one of the characteristics of the small boat industry. 

The gift is intended for small boat owners, who want the fish markets that are landed at to record the temperature of the catch at auction. 

In the ever-increasing competition in the markets and the increased consumer awareness, the opportunities of the small boat industry are obvious. The freshness of the raw material, the environmental impact of the fishing and the image that small boat fishing has for consumers are paramount, but in order to take advantage of these competitive advantages, it is necessary to ensure maximum product quality.

Rapeseed cultivation, for the production of rapeseed oil, has increased significantly in the Nordic countries in recent years and is well on its way to becoming a useful plant in Icelandic agriculture. 

During cold-pressing of the oil from the rapeseed, the product is rapeseed flour (about 70% of the seed) which contains approx. 32% protein, 11% oil and fiber. The mortgage on this raw material is favorable and it is therefore interesting to see if it can be used in feed production. This product can only be used to a limited extent in feed for traditional domestic animals due to the negative effects of the relatively high content of unsaturated fat in the flour. 

Previous research by Matís, Hólar University and Fóðurverksmiðjan Laxár, has shown that up to 33% rapeseed flour can be used in feed for char without affecting growth or feed utilization. As the market for salmon feed is much larger than for char feed, therefore interested in examining how rapeseed flour is suitable in feed for salmon.

Matís is therefore examining this in an aquaculture experiment at Verin in Sauðárkrókur in collaboration with Hólar University, Fóðurverksmiðjan Laxá and Emmelev Trading in Denmark, which is one of the largest producers of rapeseed meal in the Nordic countries.

Ásbjörn Jónsson, consultant at Matís, will take a tour at the turn of the month July / August with Frøyanes AS, a Norwegian liner, to provide advice on how to use raw materials that would otherwise be discarded for the production of pet food. It is safe to say that dogs and cats are real farmers, as pet food from seafood is first class.

The purpose of the trip is to assist in the full utilization of seafood. The main emphasis will be on the opportunities available with canning on the side of raw materials from the catch for use in more valuable pet food. 

This is not the first time that Ásbjörn goes on such a trip, but he has been a frequent visitor to Norwegian shipping companies and his knowledge and work methods have been well received.

Contact

Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson

Director of Business and Development

jonas@matis.is

The FarFish project involves 21 companies and institutions from all over Europe, Africa and South America. In addition, a number of international organizations and representatives of individual countries involved have committed themselves to the project as needed. The project is managed by Matís, who is honored to be trusted with this important project.

The project manager is Jónas R. Viðarsson, professional leader of the value chain of research at Matís, but in addition to him a number of other employees of the company will be involved in the project. It is interesting to note that about 1.5 million of the 5 million euros for which the project is funded are paid to Icelandic participants.

Matís and the United Nations University Fisheries Training Program (UNU-FTP), located in Iceland, are participants in the FarFish research and development project, funded by the Horizon 2020 European Research Program. The project aims to promote the European Fleet's access to non-European waters, to increase knowledge of the fish stocks that the fleet visits in those areas, to identify the value chains involved in catching these vessels, and to increase knowledge of fisheries management among stakeholders. fishing come; it is for both the average coastal states and European economies.

"About 20% of the catch of the European fishing fleet is obtained from non-European waters. These catches are obtained, among other things, in international waters and within the jurisdiction of coastal states, where agreements have been made on the accessibility of the European fleet. Agreements with coastal states exist in several ways, and what is directly related to this project is on the one hand special agreements between individual fishing companies and authorities in each region and on the other hand agreements that the European Union makes with individual states against the will of financial support for infrastructure in the fisheries sector. URLs. These negotiators have been controversial, with the European Union and the European Navy accused, among other things, of plundering the resources of poor countries, especially on the west coast of Africa. In response to this criticism, the Horizon 2020 research program has decided to support research and development efforts to promote improvements in this area; that's where the FarFish project comes into play, "says Jónas Rúnar Viðarsson at Matís, a knowledge and science community based on strong research infrastructure and collaboration.

The FarFish project will focus on six oceans, within the jurisdictions of Cape Verde, Mauritania, Senegal and the Seychelles, as well as international oceans in the Southeast and Southwest Atlantic. the information is made available; fisheries management within the areas will be analyzed in detail and suggestions for improvements will be made; efforts must be made to increase the responsibility of the European fleet when it comes to utilization and information; and knowledge of the fundamentals of fisheries management will be built up among coastal stakeholders and the intra-European fishing fleet.

, It is clear that this is an extremely important issue and that the park is not attacked as it is minimal. Although it is also important to keep in mind that if the project succeeds in promoting any kind of progress in this complex and often uncontrolled fishery, it will have a decisive effect on the development of important fish stocks and the livelihoods of many people, both in coastal countries and outside Europe. in Europe.

A new article, the fourth in a row in issue 30/2017, of the international scientific journal Icelandic Agricultural Sciences (IAS) has been published. 

This is a short article and in Icelandic it would be called "An examination of the plant selection of bumblebee (Bombus jonellus) in Southwest Iceland". The study was carried out in two places, in Heiðmörk and by Vífilsstaðavatn, in the summer of 2016. In the first half of the summer, the peat bumblebee (honey fly, wild bee fly) was fed mainly on thyme and mountain dandelion, slightly on bluegrass and very little on some other plant species. In the latter part of the summer there was a wider variety of flowering plants and the food choice was not as homogeneous. The peanut butter was mainly eaten on meadow roses, carrion, heather, thyme, dandelion and goldenrod. The study showed a clear difference in the choice of peat bumblebee plants between the early summer and late summer and that it takes advantage of the variety of flowering plants in the late summer.  

This interesting article can be accessed at IAS website

Contact

Óli Þór Hilmarsson

Project Manager

oli.th.hilmarsson@matis.is

It can be stated that there is an untapped opportunity in the utilization of sheep and goat milk in this country. There is an interest in milking and processing from milk, as the possibilities are perhaps greater than ever before to offer home-grown agricultural products now that our country is such a popular destination for tourists. There is also no need to look at all the possibilities that may exist in increasing value creation in Icelandic agriculture.

It is planned to hold an educational meeting for those who are interested in starting milking and processing of sheep and goat milk products. The aim of the meeting is to inform people what facilities need to be available, what requirements are made for the facilities and what needs to be considered before embarking on such a project. It is interesting to note that the interest in this meeting is much greater than we expected and now well over 30 interested people have registered for the meeting.

At the meeting, Sveinn Rúnar Ragnarsson, a farmer in Akurnes, will present the experience of the farmers in Akurnes from the implementation of sheep milking. Óli Þór Hilmarsson at MATÍS will discuss the requirements for processing according to current regulations. Sigtryggur Veigar Herbertsson, RML's shop technology consultant, will also discuss milking facilities.

May 24 The conference "Waste today - a resource tomorrow" was held at the Grand Hotel and the conference was a collaboration The Environment Agency, Farmers' Association of Iceland, FENUR, State Land Reclamation, Matís, Iceland Innovation Center, Association of companies in the fishing industry, Industry Association and The ocean cluster.

The conference focused on improving the utilization of organic by-products in Iceland and was the culmination of the Icelandic Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers for the Nordic Bioeconomy (NordBio). NordBio's goal is to make the Nordic region a leader in the sustainable production and use of living resources in order to reduce waste and promote innovation, a green economy and rural development.

Booklet on the Nordic Bioeconomy (NordBio)