A large part of the capelin, blue whiting and sprat caught in Iceland is used for flour and fish oil processing and then mainly for feed production. Little is done to process the catch into more valuable products, although there have been some attempts in that direction in recent years. Full utilization of catch is a key issue for Icelandic fisheries and it is therefore important to increase the value of small fish catches.
As an example of value creation for pelagic fish, it can be mentioned that if 10,000 tonnes of blue whiting were to be dried instead of smelting, the value of that catch could be increased by ISK 1.6 billion per year.
A collaborative project is underway between Matís, Haustaks and Herring processing at Neskaupstaður on drying pelagic fish. The aim of the project is to build knowledge and adapt the drying process of fully dried products from capelin, blue whiting and saithe, using a conveyor belt dryer. Dried products for human consumption are considered in foreign markets, mainly to Africa, such as Kenya and Tanzania. Matís has been involved in development activities in these countries in recent years, regarding the drying of small fish, which is now well known in these countries. Cyprian Ogombe Odoli, a doctoral student at Matís and a graduate of the United Nations University Fisheries Training Program (www.unuftp.is), also participates in these projects.
AVS Fisheries Research Fund sponsors the project. For further information Ásbjörn Jónsson.