Category: News

The SustainLarvae project formally began recently with an inaugural meeting at Matís' headquarters. The project is for three years and there are three participants in the project. Matís and Sæbýli from Iceland, together FishVet Group from the UK. 

The project was successful The Eurostar program through mediation Iceland Innovation Center and funding from Technology Development Fund.  

The aim of the project is to develop and evaluate the benefits of new ways of assessing the health of invertebrates for use in aquaculture, but sea urchins from the Sæbýli farm will be used. The novelty lies in the use of DNA sequencing methods to analyze the microbial composition of farming systems and the search for microbial groups that may have a potential positive or negative effect on the biodiversity or growth of sea urchins. Rapid methods will also be set up to assess the welfare of the animals based on unwanted micro-organisms in the system and with measurements of substances and hormones that the animals release under stress. Matís will conduct experiments and research in the project, Sæbýli will provide the project with materials as well as expertise in farming methods and FishVetGroup will be involved in marketing and access to foreign markets for the project's products.

For further information Eyjólfur Reynisson at Matís.

On the 20th of March. A co-operation agreement was signed between Matís and Sólheima in Grímsnes. This agreement includes a willingness to work on a common strategy for strengthening sustainable communities in Iceland, increase work capacity and innovation in food processing and sale, strengthen food crafts in Iceland, offer domestic and foreign partners to use the facilities at Sólheimar in their projects and looking for ways to finance the partnership. Social, economic and environmental sustainability is a common aspect and will be the basis for Sólheimar's collaboration, ses. and Matís.

Sólheimar is the cradle of organic farming in Iceland and a well-known international community. In addition, Sólheimar offers internships and rehabilitation for the unemployed and other groups. Sólheimar provides students with insight into and experience of participating in a sustainable society.

Matís is a powerful company that conducts research and development of food, among other things. Matís' role is to strengthen the competitiveness of Icelandic food production in both products and the economy, while at the same time promoting good public health, food security and the sustainable use of resources.

^{From left: Magnús Ólafsson for the Sólheimar Representative Council, Oddur M. Gunnarsson, division manager at Matís,
Guðmundur Á. Pétursson, managing director of Sólheimar and Ingunn Jónsdóttir, project manager at Matís and HfSu.}

It is planned to open a food factory at Sólheimar and this workshop, like other Matís food factories, will serve all the food entrepreneurs and producers who are interested in product development, but in addition it will be useful to locals for their production and innovation. One of Matís' main emphases is support for producers who want to start processing and selling products to diversify food and create value and work in rural areas. Matarsmiðjan provides certified facilities for that processing, in addition to which the services of Matís' consultants are available to producers for product development and processing training.

Sólheimar has strong international connections. Foreign volunteers work for 3-12 months on projects in Sólheimar. Sesseljuhús has been in collaboration with the university association CELL, Center for Ecological Living and Learning, since 2008. Every year, 20-30 students from the association come to Sólheimar and do part of their studies there.

Matís collaborates with many domestic and foreign universities on teaching and student projects. Annually, 30-40 students work on their research projects at Matís. Matís' co-operation with parties and support funds in other countries is very extensive and the company has been a leader in projects on strengthening food crafts, on the Nordic bioeconomy and the European project on sustainable use of resources and innovation.

For further information Oddur M. Gunnarsson division manager at Matís.

One of the biggest and most valuable changes in exports over the last 10-20 years is the large increase in the production of fresh fillets and fillet pieces. Since 1997, exports of these products have almost quadrupled in tonnes, from around 9,000 tonnes to almost 34,000 tonnes in 2013, and moreover, exports are now to a much greater extent by ship than before.

Chilled fish

In 2000, more than 500 tonnes of fresh fillets were exported by ship, but now this figure for 2013 is just over 15,000 tonnes, or just under half of the exports.

Changes of this magnitude do not occur unless many things happen and we who are researching why, why and how changes affect us are quite convinced that research and development projects in recent years have had a significant impact on this success. This development was encouraged by interested stakeholders, and it is true that the motivation lay in research and development work, which was supported by a framework program for research and development in Europe, the Rannís Technology Development Fund and AVS.

In collaboration with fisheries, production and transport companies, a great deal of knowledge and skill has been developed on how best to handle fresh seafood and maintain quality. We must also not forget the value of courses on improved catch management or other educational material.

The fresh fish book recently launched on the web is an important link in disseminating knowledge to all the many who are involved in creating the most value from the nation's resources.

Based on data from Statistics Iceland. For further information Páll Gunnar Pálsson at Matís.

Green Days is a series of events within the University of Iceland organized by GAIA, an association of master's students in environmental and resource studies. Helga Gunnlaugsdóttir from Matís will give a talk on plastics in the sea.

Green Days will be held from 25 to 27 March and is intended to promote awareness of various urgent environmental issues. This year's theme is the sea and the environmental threats that it poses, but responsibility, understanding and good treatment of the sea and its ecosystem is something that is very important to us in Iceland.

More information about GAIA Green Days can be found at The company's Facebook page.

POLSHIFTS conference in the premises of the Marine Research Institute 14-15. April 2015 | Changes in the distribution of pelagic fish stocks, effects of climate change?

The aim of the POLSHIFTS conference is to bring together scientists and stakeholders to discuss the potential impact of climate change on the distribution of pelagic fish stocks in the North Atlantic. 
There are advertisements for topics related to fishing (such as changes in access and cost of fishing grounds and adaptation of the fishing fleet from changes in the distribution of fish stocks) or the biology and ecology of pelagic fish stocks (such as changes in life history, food and spawning distribution, stock genetics and marine ecosystems). climate change may be linked to fish stocks. 

More information can be found at website of the conference.

A few points about the conference.

_{News first published on the website Association of companies in the fishing industry.}

The fresh fish handbook, which is now published on the web, deals with the introduction to all general fish processing. It does not really matter what the final product will be, it is always required that the raw material is of the best quality. It is an old-fashioned and outdated belief that poor raw materials are suitable for the production of some products. All consumers demand that they be treated with due respect by offering them only the best.

Enormous knowledge has emerged as a result of many research and development projects in recent years, and equipment in fishing vessels has made great strides, and the same is true in most of the country's operations. So everything is there to produce only quality products.

It is clear that knowledge is the basis for producing the most value from the marine resource and it is little more important than doing things right from the start, the fresh fish handbook is part of the effort to increase access to handy information.

The preparation of this handbook was funded by Matís with good support from the Herring Industry Research Fund.

At Matís, you can get a lot of information about most everything related to seafood and all the company's employees are invited and prepared to do better in cooperation with the Icelandic seafood industry.

The book can be approach here (best viewed in Acrobat Reader).

For further information Páll Gunnar Pálsson at Matís.

Matís advertises for applications for projects that involve the utilization of regional resources. The project is expected to deliver increased value, increased sustainability in the utilization of bio-resources and / or reduce organic waste.

The support includes expert advice on placing a product on the market and may include assistance with the installation of processing processes, product development, packaging design and measurements (eg shelf life, nutritional value, chemical measurements and / or bioactivity measurements).

The project is part of an innovation project under the "Nordbio" Presidency program of Iceland (2014-2016) in the Nordic Council of Ministers. These are projects that focus on innovation in food production, increased sustainability in food production and increased biomass production. See more about the overall project here.

The applicant's own work, raw materials or equipment will not be paid for.

The projects are expected to start in April and be completed in October 2015.

The application deadline is March 23, 2015. Participation is requested by filling out the application form which can be found here.

Assessment sheets that will be used to evaluate applications. Assessment sheet (in Icelandic), Evaluation (in Danish).

For more information Gunnþórunn Einarsdóttir and Þóra Valsdóttir at Matís.

Entrepreneurship Day of the subdivisions will be held on Thursday 12 March at 13:00 - 17:00 at Café Mika, Reykholt.

The day is held in collaboration with the municipalities in the uplands of Árnessýsla and organized by the tourism council of the uplands of Árnessýsla.

The aim is to promote innovation and the strengthening of employment opportunities in the area. Attention will be paid to how to start or develop a business. The musculoskeletal system will be introduced, funding opportunities and experiences will be shared.

Interested parties are given the opportunity to discuss their ideas with consultants. Various presentations will be made at the meeting, including guests from the Iceland Innovation Center and SASS employment counseling, but also Ingunn Jónsdóttir, a joint employee of Matís and Háskólafélag Suðurlands, will give presentations on innovative thinking and talk about Matvælabrún, a study that Háskólafélagið has been running in collaboration with Matís and food companies. Southern Iceland.

In addition, representatives of companies in the suburbs will share experiences.

Schedule and further information can be found at www.sveitir.is. 

Stykkishólmsbær, the Irish company Marigot Ltd. which owns Íslenska kalkþörungafélagið á Bíldudalur, and Matís ohf. have signed an agreement that aims to integrate co-operation between these parties in connection with a new project that is currently being prepared. The project involves increased value creation with further utilization of large algae in Breiðafjörður in a new industrial company, Deltagen Iceland ehf., Which plans to build a factory in Stykkishólmur. If these plans are successful, it can be expected that Deltagen Iceland's operations with 15 new full-time jobs will begin in the second half of 2016.

As reported last week, Marigot has bought a 60% share in the processing part of the operations of the innovation company Marinox ehf. which was wholly owned by Matís and two key executives there. This is the part of the company that handles research and processing of valuable raw materials from the sea, seaweed and kelp.

Friðrik Friðriksson, Chairman of the Board of Matís, Sturla Böðvarsson, Mayor of Stykkishólmsbær, and Einar Sveinn Ólafsson, CEO of Íslenska kalkþörungafélag, on behalf of Marigot.

Close co-operation should be considered

With the agreement that Stykkishólmsbær, Marigot and Matís have now signed, the intention is to stimulate integration in cooperation between these parties, among other things to promote new opportunities in the field of education, research and innovation in the municipality based on scientific work and industry needs. If all plans go according to plan, Deltagen Iceland will build and operate a new factory in Stykkishólmur, where high-quality algae kernels will be processed for export, not least on the basis of innovation and extensive knowledge from Matís scientists.

Precautionary principles are the basis of sustainable development

Sustainable utilization of seaweed and algae in Breiðafjörður is the basis for the collaboration. Research indicates that the sustainable return on the resource is considerably higher than the current utilization. The agreement states that precautionary considerations must always be observed in any project that the planned activities will require, as they are the basis for sustainable development in the utilization of organic resources. The main emphasis will be on a scientific approach to the utilization of the resource, with the aim of fully utilizing the raw material with the least possible impact on the environment, while maximizing the regional economic benefits.

We want to take part in further business development

"With the establishment of Deltagen Iceland, Marigot is looking at possible future growth in its operations in Iceland, and if these plans go ahead, the factory in Stykkishólmur will be built explicitly with the goals of the operations in mind. We look to Stykkishólmur due to adequate and necessary infrastructure in the municipality, available labor and proximity to the raw material. This is also a clear sign of Marigot's interest in participating in further business development in Iceland, "says Einar Sveinn Ólafsson, CEO of the Icelandic Lime Algae Association and Marigot's representative in Iceland.

Promotes more diverse employment opportunities

"We welcome this exciting agreement, which aims to create more jobs and increase the diversity of the business community in the area. According to plans, the factory itself would create 15 man-years under full capacity as well as jobs in seaweed mowing and collection, development and technical work as well as other derivative jobs that are an important boon for us in Stykkishólmur in further business development. The city authorities are now working on the necessary planning issues related to the project, which we hope will succeed. The proposed industry would need, among other things, direct access to good port facilities for large cargo ships and to land seaweed from transport barges and ships transporting seaweed from hay barges in Breiðafjörður. We will look into this project with the government, "says Sturla Böðvarsson, mayor of Stykkishólmur.

Fits well with Matís' main role

"We welcome this agreement and look forward to the exciting opportunities that the collaboration will hopefully bring. Matís has historically built a strong reputation in the field of research and innovation in food production and biotechnology. Our approach to Deltagen Iceland's operations will be through the work of Matís scientists, as there is extensive knowledge of underutilized products such as seaweed and kelp. By supporting the innovation of Matís employees in this way, we are promoting the necessary incentives to develop the ideas further and create valuable products and thus strengthen the Icelandic economy. That is in fact one of Matís 'main roles, "says Friðrik Friðriksson, Matís' Chairman of the Board.

For further information, please contact the following parties:

Sturla Böðvarsson, mayor of Stykkishólmsbær, tel. 863 8888, Einar Sveinn Ólafsson, managing director of Íslenska kalkþörungafélag, on behalf of Marigot, tel. 897 0303 and Friðrik Friðriksson, chairman of the board of Matís, tel. 896-7350.

It has long been a custom in the Icelandic fishing industry that when fishermen stab themselves at the sharp-edged redfish, they have simply cut into the fish's eyes and applied the mucus to the injection wound.

Increased value from processing at Karfi (Sebastes)
- study of the chemical composition and bioactivity of redfish mucus

By using the mucus in this way, the sailors have prevented infection and also the pain has been less than otherwise and the inflammatory response is negligible compared to when eye mucus is not applied to the wound. This was the trigger for the project and the information that was based on when the project was launched. The purpose of this project was to shed light on whether the mucus from the eyes of redfish (Sebastes) can be used for the production of substances that have a desirable bioactivity that could possibly be used in various industries, such as cosmetics, food supplements and more.

The results show that antioxidant activity is found in perch eye mucus, especially when 50% methanol solution was used in the extract and antioxidant activity was measured by a so-called DPPH test. The protein content was low in the eye mucus, but the highest was measured in the eye mucus, which was heat-dried at 30 ° C. With the methods tested, the eye mucus was found not to contain bactericidal activity or to measure β-carotene.

This project was in fact a preliminary study of material that has not been examined before and information that was not available was collected. It would be interesting to further investigate other desirable bioactivities, such as anti-inflammatory activity. It would also be exciting to isolate and further investigate the proteins that are found in the eye mucus.

Student

Friðrik Þór Bjarnason is a fisheries scientist from the University of Akureyri in the spring of 2014 and a master's student in aquaculture at the University of Bodø Norway from the autumn of 2014.

Advisor

Rannveig Björnsdóttir Associate Professor University of Akureyri and director of Matís.

The project was carried out at the University of Akureyri and Matís Akureyri, with funding from Student Innovation Fund.

All raw materials for the study came from processing Samherji hf.

For further information Rannveig Björnsdóttir, professional manager at Matís in Akureyri.