Icelandic Saga Suรฐureyri.Iceland
01 icelandic saga Icelandic Saga is located in Suðureyri, a fishing village of 320 inhabitants in the northwestern part of Iceland, also known as The West Fjords. Suðureyri is less than an hour long boat ride from Iceland’s richest fishing grounds and has naturally always been a fishing village, with half of the working population being dependant on this sector. In the early 19th century there were only thirteen people living in the village but the population began to grow after the first motor boats arrived in 1906, and five years later the inhabitants numbered around 200. Small motorboats land in Suðureyri and a fish processing plant, fish market and a fish drying company operate by the harbor that has been certified with the international Blue Flag. The village is self-sufficient in terms of its own heating and electricity supplies which are generated by natural resources: geothermal hot-springs and electricity generated from nearby waterfalls.
FOUNDERS: ÓÐINN AND GUÐNI FROM SUÐUREYRI Icelandic Saga is owned and managed by Óðinn Gestsson and Guðni Einarsson. They were both born and raised in Suðureyri and both come from a long line of fishermen and women. They founded the company in December 1999 although the plant was built in 1972.
02 A few facts Icelandic Saga has its own 600 tonnes quota and we also have contracts with other boat and quota owners so that we have access to up to 3,000 tonnes. The rest is bought from fish markets around the country. We produce 4,000-5,000 tonnes of round fish annually. 95% of our fish is caught from long-line day boats, which greatly decreases the use of fossil fuels. We have been 50 and 70 employees, depending on the season. Our annual turnover is between US $10 - 15 million. Icelandic Saga‘s production consists of: 70% Frozen and fresh Haddock 20% Frozen, fresh and salted Cod 10% Frozen and fresh Ocean Catfish.
HADDOCK CATCHES BY COUNTRY IN TONNES
Iceland Norway Russia EU & others Faroes Canada & US Total
2006 97,000 71,000 55,000 54,000 21,000 20,000 318,000
2007 109,000 73,000 63,000 48,000 17,000 24,000 334,000
2008 100,000 79,000 64,000 50,000 14,000 30,000 337,000
03 Handling raw materials All the fish we catch is bled alive as it enters the boat and then put in liquid-ice for quick cooling. As soon as the fish arrives at the plant in the afternoon, it is gutted, beheaded and then sorted by weight. The quality control system is based on HACCP: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. Samples are taken regularly from the raw material, both on board and in the process plant. The handling is then evaluated and reported. The fish is put in liquid-ice in plastic tubs and stored in a holding room, where the room temperature is 2째C, until it is processed and shipped off one or two days later.
04 Processing Our daily production capacity ranges between 15,000 -30,000 lbs. depending on the trimming requirement. Our IQF freezer has a capacity of 2,000 lbs. per hour and the plate freezers have the capacity of 18,000 lbs. in 8 hours. Fresh products are shipped off from KeflavĂk airport the day after it has been caught. Fresh fish can be on a plate in the United States or Europe as quickly as 36 hours after being caught on a line boat off the coast of Iceland. Our frozen products are packed into various wrappings based on demand. Some are sold straight to supermarkets while others are sent for further processing around the world. In the past few years there has been a great increase in demand for fresh fish products from Icelandic Saga. This has led to an increased focus on this part of our operation and today there has been a shift so that exports of frozen and fresh fish are of almost equal importance.
05 Marketing areas Since it was founded in 1999, Icelandic Saga has mainly exported its products to the USA and the UK. Fresh haddock is exported to the UK and frozen haddock to the USA. The cod and the catfish are mostly exported to various countries in Europe; the cod is either frozen, fresh or salted and the catfish is both fresh and frozen. We have cooperated with Icelandic USA on distributing our products since Icelandic Saga was founded. On the UK market we have cooperated with SĂŚmark/Seafood Company since 2005 and on the European markets we have worked mostly with SĂŚmark and other smaller distributors.
06 Icelandic Saga‘s mission Icelandic Saga is a reliable and trustworthy company that focuses on the following objectives: Delivering a premier quality product. Building close and long-lasting relationships with our customers. Responding quickly to market demands. Being profitable and financially healthy in order to be able to deliver the above.
CONTACT ICELANDIC SAGA Icelandic Saga Freyjugรถtu 2 430 Suรฐureyri Iceland
odinn@icelandicsaga.is www.icelandicsaga.is Tel: +354 456-6300 Fax: +354 456-6304