An exciting conference on algae farming, aquaculture and shellfish farming will take place on 19 and 20 March under the title Strandbúnaður 2018.
Icelanders, like other people on the planet, face great challenges, including food production for the future. More and more people are paying attention to the fact that less than 5% of the world's total food and feed production comes from oceans and lakes, even though they cover about 70% of the earth's surface. It is therefore worth looking at making better use of water for food production, and this is where coastal equipment comes in strong, thus playing together the sixth world goal - clean water and toilet facilities - and the fourteenth - life in water - to the other world goal - no hunger. Industries based on the exploitation of resources on and off the coast of the country can certainly help solve the challenges we face. The world's food security can be strengthened by the so-called blue revolution - food production - in water - including along the coast.
Several attempts have been made to move the concept aquaculture into Icelandic costume. Aquaculture is primarily about fish farming, shellfish farming or cultivation and the use of algae is not covered. Aquaculture refers to aquaculture in liquid, that concept has not solved anchors. Coastal farming is a synonym for industries related to the utilization of land and / or sea quality in and along the coast of the country, whether it is cultivation or fire, just as agriculture refers to cultivating the land, cultivating animal species and benefiting from what the animals give off. It was noted at the first conference, a year ago, that the name coastal equipment could be established.
It is important that there is an open forum for professional and informative debate on the most urgent and important issues for the industries that utilize resources and quality on, by and off the coast of the country. The industries in question are aquaculture, algae farming and shellfish farming. Stakeholders have the opportunity to make their decisions at the conference Coastal equipment 2018 which will take place at the Grand Hotel on 19 and 20 March. The Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture will chair the conference. Strandbúnaður 2018 is open to everyone, it will be discussed separately, at defined seminars; ethics, welfare, possibilities for land farming of salmon, whether salmon lice are an "emerging" problem, the fate of Icelandic shellfish farming in light of competition with live imported shells, utilization of small algae as a revolution in the production of organic matter and that farming is more than salmon. Among the seminars is the harvest festival of research and finally there will be a discussion about health in coastal equipment with the subtitle work and awareness raising.
In all cultivation work where man uses land or sea areas for his own benefit, questions may arise as to what is morally right to go far in terms of the environment, morality and not least the welfare of the living organisms of the century. These speculations are justified in connection with the industries covered by coastal equipment as well as other industries where organisms are cultivated for human consumption. Strandbúnaðar 'conferences are intended to be a forum for constructive discussions about the industries, and the opening seminar provides an opportunity to discuss these issues. The topics will be discussed from the point of view of ethics, the protection of territories, possible penalties for warning will be examined and possible preventive measures will be looked at.
In light of the research that contributes to knowledge that supports business development, a special seminar is dedicated to the results of research and development, which has been funded by the AVS Fisheries Research Fund, the Environmental Fund for Aquaculture, the Technology Development Fund, Nordic funds, European funds and economic funds. There, some examples of how new knowledge has been applied for the benefit of the Icelandic economy for value creation in coastal equipment will be discussed and at the same time examples of opportunities for advancement in that field will be given. It is important to succeed in implementing new knowledge in the operation of companies so that the impact of the investment that has been invested in research, innovation and development work can be maximized.
The seminar on the health of coastal equipment will include; what are the biggest challenges, where and what can be done better and what innovations can be applied to our neighbors' experience bank to take advantage of the conditions that are considered favorable to increase food production from aquaculture and other coastal industries.
The article first appeared in Morgunblaðið on March 14, 2018