Matís was a participant in a conference organized by CCFI (The Canadian Center for Fisheries Innovation) www.ccfi.ca) 15.-16. last November but the conference (Process Automation in Seafood Processing www.ccfi.co/workshop) discussed the future of technology and the use of automation in fish processing in Canada.
In recent years, technological development in pelagic and catfish processing has accelerated rapidly in Iceland and other countries are now looking to us and the results that have been achieved here.
The Icelandic representatives at the conference were Sæmundur Elíasson from Matís and Ögmundur Knútsson from the University of Akureyri.
Sæmundur's talk was about the technological development that has taken place in the Icelandic fishing industry. In pelagic processing, the result has been that fishing and processing processes are mostly automatic and nowhere in the process does the human hand touch the fish. The procedure increases food safety and facilitates product traceability through the processing processes.
The catfish processing plant in Iceland has traditionally required more hard work in processing, but recent technological solutions are reversing this trend so that more jobs are being transferred to quality management and control. In the land processing of catfish, there has been a revolution in fillet cutting technology, which now takes place in automatic machines. Larger processes also have technologically advanced packaging and finishing of products where robots take care of the work.
A factor in the technologicalization of Icelanders has also stretched its wings to the sea, where the control of bleeding and cooling processes has increased. The latest trawlers will also be equipped with automation for moving tanks from the middle deck and down to the ships' trains, a development that will revolutionize the working environment of seafarers and increase both human safety and catch on board. Finally, the presentation reviewed the incentives and challenges of the parties involved in technological development, where the cooperation of the manufacturer, developer, research and government is a key factor in success.
Ögmundur's talk dealt with the history and development of the Icelandic fisheries sector, where the development of fisheries management, fishing, the fleet was reviewed and placed in the context of value creation, which has increased considerably in recent decades. Despite less catches, Icelanders have managed to increase the value creation of the fish that comes from the sea with improved utilization and more valuable products. Technology and automation have played a major role in this development and also helped to standardize production and extend the shelf life of fresh products, which is important for Icelanders due to their distance from markets.
Icelanders 'emphasis on this technological development has created opportunities for exporting technological solutions, and Canadians' interest did not go unnoticed. Their conditions are in many ways different, as the greatest value of seafood is in crab, lobster and shellfish processing. Great emphasis is placed on these valuable species while catfish and pelagic fish meet the surplus. It aroused the interest of Canadians how much value Icelanders can create from that raw material and there was also a lot of talk about the efficiency of the Icelandic fisheries management system in comparison with the Canadian one.
It is clear that technologicalization and the automation of the fisheries sector lead to many opportunities, and it is interesting that Icelanders are a leading force in this development. This development will create a need for increased education and expertise in the industry and change jobs in the fisheries sector, where production capacity and product quality increase significantly.