Fishing the News 2017 2nd EDITION

Bringing you news, knowlegde and innovation from Iceland

Brussels Expo 2nd EDITION APRIL 2017

RoteX Onboard ™

Constant and superior quality Welcome to our booth #6127, Seafood Expo Global, Brussels, 25–27th April, 2017.

• Controlled flow: First-in, First-out principle allows full control on the flow through rate of the product.

• Increased shelf life: The rapid chilling after bleeding, increases the product quality.

• Superior bleeding: Outstanding blood drainage, reduces bacterial counts and gives brighter flesh color.

• Energy saving: Reduces freezing time for products meant to be frozen.

• The RoteX tank can be easily fitted into existing processing line.

www.skaginn3x.com

WORLD SEAFOOD CONGRESS 2017 Growth in the Blue Bioeconomy

Practical approach and cutting edge research for market innovation, safe seafood supply and food integrity The World Seafood Congress (@WSC_2017) will be held in ReykjavĂ­k, Iceland, September 10-13.

The Congress is expected to attract over 500 seafood professionals from around the world and is held in connection with the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition (www.icefish.is).

The Congress program will include international expert speakers who will inspire the audience with keynote presentations, industry specific presentations, panel discussions and workshop sessions.

Among confirmed key speakers: -

John Bell, Bioeconomy Directorate EC DG Ray Hilborn, University of Washington Tanja Hoel, NCE Seafood Innovation Cluster Lynette Kusca, Natural Machines David M. Malone, United Nations University Ă rni Mathiesen, Assistant Director General, Fisheries & Aquaculture department, FAO - Marie C. Monfort, Marketing Seafood & Sea-Matters

wsc2017.com

Fisheries Training Programme

Contents PAGE 6 Icelandair Cargo 10 Merlo Seafood 14 ON THE CUTTING EDGE Marel hf 16 Wise An Australian company chooses WiseFish 18 Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line A/S 20 Íslandsstofa Icelandic national booth at the Seafood expo in Brussel is magnificent.

22 Curio Fish-processing machines Elliði Hreinsson, CEO of Curio. more popular than expected 24 Skaginn 3X  “Product quality is on the agenda at all times” 26 Opal Seafood ehf 28 Vísir hf.

30 About Fish With branches worldwide

Publisher: Tímaritið Sjávarafl ehf.

Phones: 6622-600 Editor and guarantor: Elín Bragadóttir Website: www.sjavarafl.is E-mail: elin@sjavarafl.is Graphic design: Logi Jes Kristjánsson

logijes@simnet.is Front Cover: Olgeir Andrésson Printing: Prentsmiðjan Oddi

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

Advances in technology and its application

B

ecause of the Gulf-stream surrounding the country we have rich fishing grounds, containing various species of fish. Undisturbed nature is the most valuable resource of the Icelandic nation. In the past people didn't much like the Gulf-stream but today it has become clear how valuable it is to us, because this country would be uninhabitable if it weren't there. Not only have seafood-products kept us alive in previous centuries, but Icelanders started selling seafood-products early in their history, first fish oil and then stockfish.

Times have changed a lot from the 14th century when a turnaround occured and seafood became Icelanders' main export in place of woolen cloth.

The fishing industry constantly relies on research and product development but experience has shown that increased creation of capital goods is based on ingenuity, of which we can be proud. All this is based on the foundations that we know so well. That knowledge is our resource and provides insight into further innovations in the future; factors such as the knowledge, competence, education and culture of those who inhabit the country.

The importance of gaining knowledge in the fishing industry is fundamental to being able to take advantage of the learning and skill that we possess.

Imparting both knowledge and that which we know about research and education. That way we have a better chance of development in the fishing industry and deal with challenges in an ever changing competitive environment. By sharing our knowledge connections are made, which can be invaluable to companies.

Therefore it may be said that knowledge is necessary in the fishing industry.

Educational experts know how to evaluate catch quantities which have, as a whole, stopped increasing, while the value increase has continued. Many growth companies have played their part in increasing the fish industry's yield. Everything is utilized these days, be it fish skin or bones. Respect for the limited natural resources which we possess has increased greatly. The fishing industry has gone through many changes in the last few years and progress in the technology and its use for the benefit of the industry is significant.

Elín Bragadóttir Editor

A clean ocean, quality and freshness are among other things quantifiable resources which have created wealth for us and further encourage us to continue innovating and marketing our unique products.

QUALITY

SEAFOOD

Deserves Quality Processing

For handling and processing your high quality raw material, you should only accept the best quality processing technology.

Marel’s advanced equipment and software enable seafood processors to optimize yield, throughput, and product quality.

Meet us at Seafood Processing Global in Brussels, no. 4-6223 & 4-6227 marel.com/fish

FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

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An environmentally friendly and

global source of protein Elín Bragadóttir

I

n order for fish to be in its most appealing state it needs to be brought to the market as soon as pos-sible. No one doubts the quality of Icelandic fresh fish either. We wonder, however, how wise it is to bring fish to market in Europe and the United States of America, considering how expensive it is to transport the product by airplane. And let's not forget the issue of the carbon-footprint left by the aerial transport of fish.

We at Sjávarafl were curious to know why it is sensible bring fresh fish to market in Europe and the United States of America. We spoke to Gunnar Már Sigurfinnsson, the CEO of Icelandair Cargo.

Gunnar Már Sigurfinnsson the CEO of Icelandair Cargo

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Why is it a good idea to bring products to market by airplane in Europe and the United States of America?

The main reason why sellers choose to transport fish to fish by airplane is that fresh fish fetches the highest price. According to the available numbers, fish sold fresh in the market fetches a nearly 40% higher price than frozen fish. Fresh products like fish have a limited shelf-life and 4 - 6 days after they come into being their quality starts diminishing. Therefore it is crucial to move the product as quickly as possible to market because that way it will be in optimal condition when it reaches the consumer. Transportation is only a part of the process. The product goes into distribution and then stands on the store-shelf until it's sold. That's why the best way to go is a moderate quantity, which arrives regularly and is transported quickly. That's how the optimal quality is preserved. A flight from Iceland to the biggest markets of fresh fish takes 3 - 6 hours, depending on the destination and thus we manage to bring the product to market much faster than, for example, the Norwegians, who are the main competitors of Icelanders.

Why can others not offer comparable services?

Simply because Icelandair has created a system of routes connecting Iceland with all our largest mar-kets in Europe and North America. When these air-routes were created, opportunities arise for products and services to ride along in the planes and buyers are created for the product, who are, as in the case of the fish, prepared to pay a higher price for the unique quality of what we have to offer. We provide rides on board Icelandair Cargo flights and also on board Icelandair passenger-planes to just about 50 locations in Europe and North America.

When we start flying to new locations, quite often new markets arise, because the buyers get a product which is unique and desirable for its freshness and quality. The most recent example of this is when Icelandair started flying to Canada and a market was subsequently created for fresh fish and these days we pretty much sell out all the cargo-space on flights to Toronto. It is filled with fish from Iceland. The reason for this is that after we started flying for the entire year and were able to provide a product of such quality in stores every day, that created a demand for it which was not possible while such quick transport was

So you're saying that fish arriving to the market by way of airplane has a competitive advantage over other products in that market?

Yes, that is definitely the case. The process is short and so the quality should be high. Our circum-stances in Iceland are also quite unique.

The fishing grounds are close by and we can obtain the fish quickly near to land. The boats take the catch to land very quickly, where the fish is unloaded and prepared for export. It is very often processed in places near the airport, which is why it can be taken so quickly to the airport. Technically, it can be brought to land early in the morning, prepared for transport in the morning, driven to the airport around noon, put on a flight from Iceland and placed on the destination market 3 - 6 hours after departure.

That night it's driven to the distributors, who receive it early in the morning and get it ready for the vendor. Then it is distributed to stores or restaurants and reaches the vendors in each market around noon. And the consumer buys it before the evening and is able to enjoy it less than 36 hours after it has been prepared for transport. No one compares with us in this respect.

FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

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unavailable. This fresh product is sold at a high price and is therefore an important source of revenue in the Icelandic fishing industry.

Many have pointed out that aerial transport is expensive, in fact, much more expensive than transport by ship.

It is quite accurate that this means of transport is more expensive than transport by sea, but the expense is outweighed by the products' superior quality, due how quickly they are transported and that provides Icelandic purveyors with a unique position and higher prices. Transport by way of ship takes several days and the fact that the product only retains its optimal quality for four days calles for a shorter transport-period.

Aerial transport is the only way to insure that this deadline is avoided al-most every time with regards to transport and shelf-life.

There has been much discussion recently about the carbon footprint of transporting products by way of airplane. Where do these assertions come from and is flight a bad choice for transport with respect to the carbon footprint on the environment?

Governmental bodies, companies and the public all around the world are, to a larger extent

Fresh fish bought on board

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

consider-ing the effect that pollution has on our environment and of course all life on Earth.

Pollution is con-sidered the greatest threat that humans in the future will face and its effects on, for example, weather patterns can have serious consequences for generations to come. Food production leaves the largest cabon footprint of every single factor and creates about 30% of all the world's carbon emissions. Naturally, that causes people to seek ways to minimize the pollution caused by food-production. Producttransport creates around 10-14% of all the carbon emissions created during food-production, but since the process is well defined it is easy to measure and improve.

Aerial transport has had a reputation of contributing greatly to pollution, although flights account for only 2% of all the carbon emissions in the world. Therefore it is natural that aerial transport be scru-tinized and demands made that we work tirelessly to improve the flight process with regards to pol-lution. We who work on these transports are very conscious of this, which has led to steady devel-opment of these means of transport and a great emphasis on utilizing space on passenger flights, who will fly in any case, regardless of whether products like fresh fish are on board or not. Icelandair Cargo places

great emphasis on reducing carbon emissions and is therefore placing an increasing amount of, for example, fish headed to foreign markets, on passenger flights. In the past few years the ratio of fresh fish marketed in foreign countries being transported by passenger planes, who will fly on any case, has risen from 18% to just under 60% in the year 2016.

What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted during the manufacturing of a prod-uct. That refers to the entire lifespan of the product, from the initial stages of its creation until the point where it has reached the wholesaler, retailer or consumer.

Then does Icelandic fish not suffer a disadvantage when it is transported abroad, considering the carbon footprint left by the product, when compared with other products in the market?

Not at all. The transport is handled so that the greater part of the fish is being moved to market

in airplanes who will fly whether or not they have fish on board. That means that the product leaves a relatively small carbon footprint. The product flies far in-land because, as I said previously, we have around 50 locations in our system of routes and therefore we can get the product to its market, which cuts short transport along land, which again reduces the carbon footprint.

Then there is the fact that flying fish is usually fished with a longline and a boat seine, which are very environmental ways of fishing and do not create a large carbon footprint. With regards to fish sold in markets in, for example, Belgium, the carbon footprint of Icelandic fish is very small in comparison with other pro-tein-sources on offer, for example, in stores. Fish caught in Iceland and flown into the market pol-lutes less than Norwegian fish driven into the same market in Europe from Norway.

How is that possible?

Fish caught around Iceland leaves a smaller carbon footprint than the fish caught around Norway. That's because of the more environmentally friendly fishing methods by the coast of Iceland and the driving of transport trucks pollutes more than the flying of passenger planes. The difference is greatly in the Icelandic fish's favor. Even though the fish is transported by way of cargo planes it has a rela-tively low pollution factor, although it is certainly higher than when the product is flown in by a passenger plane which will fly in any case.

In addition, it may be said that the fish compares favorably with other protein-sources sold in stores, like for instance beef or pork. The Icelandic fish flown to the market leaves a carbon footprint ranging from 1,2 – 2,3 kg Co2 e/kg of the product, depending on the manner of its aerial transport, while beef leaves about 46 kg Co2 e/kg

and pork about 6 kg Co2 e/kg, so the difference is significant.

So it's without doubt very environmentally friendly for the purveyors of food products to offer fresh Icelandic fish, transported to them by way of airplane. I see an enormous opportunity there for us Icelanders in the future. The consumers of the future will demand more vociferously that products be environmentally friendly and the fact that Icelandic fish is among the products that leave the smallest carbon footprint should increase the consumers' interest in this product.

I think of this as a unique opportunity which we should make much better use of in order to bring attention to this unique product and raise interest in it.

Do you have anything to add?

As I mentioned previously, Icelandic gets to the market in a more fresh condition than all the fish which our competitors want to bring to the market, whether we're talking about Europe or North

America. That means that buyers are willing to pay a higher price because the product is fresher and of high quality. It's also more environmentally friendly than most other sources of protein and more environmentally friendly than fish from competitor countries, which is driven to the market, even though it's flown in. Also, one is hard-pressed to find a healthier food product than fish, so we meet all the demands which the consumers of the future are prepared to pay for.

In my opinion this is an enormous opportunity for the industry to unite and bring its products to consumers in our largest markets. If we succeed in this then the future for Icelandic fish is very bright!

System of transportation

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Súgandafjörður around 1946. A photograph hanging in the Merlo office.

Great fluctuations the nature of the industry -Sjávarafl got a hold of Merlo Seafood CEO Magnús Erlingsson and spoke to him about the company, market fluctuations and the coming fishing industry expo in Brussels.

Bára Huld Beck

T

he employees of the company Merlo Seafood all hail from the Westfjords of Iceland, and most of them from Súgandafjörður. Really, there are two companies, Merlo ehf. handling the domestic market and Merlin Seafood handling the exports. Six people are currently employed by these two companies. Merlo ehf. handles the sale and distribution of products to 50 - 60 companies, for example to Landspítalinn, the Hilton Hotel and a number of restaurants in the metropolitan area. Also, they sell their products to large kitchens and companies.

Meanwhile, Merlo Seafood handles the exports.

"The way it works is that we have buyers abroad and then we receive information from the manufacturers as to what kind of fish they have," explains Magnús Erlingsson, the CEO of Merlo Seafood. That's how he gets information regarding the kinds of fish on offer and the size and quantity of the fish and passes that information along to the buyers. He says that the next step is to bid for the fish and if they have the best price then they get the product. The company works with many manufacturers all across the country.

Worked in fish all his life Magnús Erlingsson was born and raised in Súgandafjörður. "My father and grandfather were

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both ship-captains in the Westfjords and my mother and grandmother also worked in fish.

I've had many kinds of jobs in the fishing industry for as long as I can remember. First I worked with my father and then I went out to sea. That didn't go so well since I was always seasick," he says and smiles. He adds that he's been a part of the fishing industry for quite a long time and has had many jobs in sales.

Magnús Erlingsson General Manager

The company Merlo ehf. was founded in the year 2002. "I started out by putting four cases of shrimp into the back of a Toyota Corolla and driving downtown. I sold shrimp to the Chinese restaurants and it‘s been evolving ever since," says Magnús. The family's resources are utilized by the company. His wife, Kristín Guðmundsdóttir, is the CEO of both companies and both his sons have worked at the company. His son has made advertising brochures and his brother works at the company.

Gradual luck is the best So Magnús has been associated with the fishing industry since he was a young boy of about twelve or thirteen and sold fish since 1985. He says that the main benefit of being where he is today is the independence of the operation. "It's convenient in the sense of being able to work from anywhere, needing only a telephone and an internet hook-up," he says. He could really do this job from anywhere in the world.

Magnús worked alongside his namesake, Magnús Guðfinnsson, in his home garage for seven years before more of his associates began working for the company and moved into their offices in Krókháls about ten years ago. The company has grown at a slow, steady pace since then.

"Gradual luck is the best," he says, wondering what the point of growth for the sake of growth is, because what matters is that the company

produces something worthwhile. He also thinks it's important for employees to have a decent wage and even become partners. "We've tried to run it so that everyone is satisfied and gets something out of what they're doing," he says.

Great variety Magnús Guðfinnsson, the sales director at Merlo ehf. and its owner, says that the domestic department is a bit of a wholesale firm because it has both fresh and frozen fish and all kinds. "In addition, we have many other kinds of products, like shrimp, lobster, scallops and tiger-shrimp, mussels and smoked salmon and gravlax," he says. The variety is therefore great.

The company also imports a bit of fish, for example American scallops and tiger-shrimp, which is unavailable in Iceland. "We also recently adopted a new product which may be referred to as a "party-product"," says Magnús Erlingsson. By that he means seafood which may be served as finger food and hors d'oeuvres. The company just recently adopted eight new products which they are currently introducing and these products are mainly marketed to catering-services.

Phenomenally popular fish-balls Merlo ehf. sells fish-balls which are, according to Magnús, a great success. The basic recipe originated in the Westfjords and the company sold about two or three tons last bun-day and Magnús says that this is a record for a single day. They sell mainly to the catering market and people also come to buy from them directly.

"Many consider these to be the best fish-balls in the country," says Magnús Guðfinnsson with a chuckle. He says that they have been in business for many years and that initially they used fishballs from various producers. "Marketing them was difficult to say the least, the reason being that the ingredients that were put into the balls weren't satisfactory and the customers weren't happy," he says. That's why they decided to create their own recipe and making them like "mom did in the old days." Since the beginning of that production the sales have increased steadily, according to him. "No matter where these balls go in, they rarely come out again," he says, adding that it's always fun when a job is well done.

A demand for good ingredients Magnús Guðfinnsson says that their quality of service is high and to illustrate his point he notes that most of the companies which they serviced in the beginning are still their customers today.

"We are gradually gaining a foothold," he says.

The momentum he senses is positive and he says that the number of those who are aware of Merlo ehf. in the market is constantly growing.

"We've not been known for advertising a lot," he says with a chuckle. He says that they are in no rush and that their attitude towards the domestic expansion or growth of the company is calm.

He says that of course it's a struggle and that the competition is fierce. Many parties are in this market and so the service needs to be good, as well as the price. "In addition, there is a fierce demand for quality ingredients in this market.

Merlo ehf. runs a small kitchen where seafooddishes and the fish-balls are prepared. Magnús says that two tons of fish-balls need to be fried each month to cover the demand. They have also started developing a new fish-pudding. "I decided to try it out with real ingredients. The outcome has been great and the feedback has been very positive," he says, adding that the pudding is 70-75% fish and that it contains no milk or eggs.

Wide connections Merlo Seafood mainly exports frozen fish but is now moving into fresh fish as well. Its CEO says that they have been specializing in frozen fish Magnús says that the fish is either sea frozen or land frozen and that those are mostly fillets.

"We've also been selling milt and capelin eggs to Japan and China, along with capelin and mackerel," he says.

Fresh shrimp on their way to the market

Magnús Guðfinnsson Sales Manager / Domestic

A Merlo ehf. company car FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

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The competition is fierce, as is to be expected.

"We've been fighting the big export companies and we've had to do better than them. And certain relationships form and you end up selling to the same companies again and again. If the buyers like the product and the service they want to buy it again," says Magnús. That's the way it works.

Use the MSC certification system Magnús says that they are members of MSC, an organization offering two kinds of certification, for sustainable fishing and traceability from pier to consumer.

Coalfish, haddock, cod and redfish, for example, have this certification. Magnús explains that this means that those species aren't being overfished and that means that they are more appealing to many and more likely to be bought. "We detect a difference, especially in Europe. There people ask: "Is this an MSC-product?" Some store chains don't buy anything unless it's MSC-certified," he says. It's important for some customers that the fish come from sustainable stock.

Merlo Seafood's largest market is Germany. They also sell to the Netherlands, France, the Canary Islands and Asia. "We work with a very good company which has a branch in Asia. They find the customers and we find the producers," he says.

Using old black and white photographs After attending the fishing industry expo in Brussels for several years, Merlo Seafood will have a booth for the first time this year. That

decision was made to introduce the company by referring to its origins in the Westfjords. Magnús says that they mean to have old black and white photographs from the Westfjors, particularly from Súgandafjörður in the forties. They will use photographs from reverend Jóhannes, who was a reverend there and took many beautiful photos of the town, the people and the culture, also from fish processing. "These are fun photos from fun times," he says.

According to Magnús, it's good to visit an expo like that to meet customers. "Then it's possible to arrange meetings, meet new people and build new relationships, it's all about building new relationships," he says, adding that it's also important to maintain previously established relationships.

The fishermen's strike had a bad impact on the company's operation, according to Magnús.

"Immediately after christmas and in the first part of January it was fine. We were selling frozen fish but then we had no income in all of February," he says. Thus the industry has great fluctuations and some months can be excellent while others are poor. He says that many factors can impact these fluctuations, both external circumstances and efficiency in sales. He concludes by saying: "That's the nature of this business."

Merlo Seafood's next step is to move into the British market. "We've been presenting ourselves there," says Magnús. Their contact in Britain will go with them to the expo in Brussels.

A struggle every day "It's a struggle. If you don't have the best prices you don't get the fish," says Magnús. So there is no option but success, according to him, because the competition is fierce.

He says that the increased value of the króna effects the entire industry. "Most people usually think in euros and dollars. We pay producers in foreign currency and need to sell them here in order to produce Icelandic krónas, pay wages and costs. And that way you just get fewer krónas when the króna is as strong as it is today," he says.

A quick-freezer in a kitchen

Merlo storage

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The Merlo office

A freezer and a refrigerator

SkInnIng

wE briNg TOgETHEr THE dEVOTiON iNHErENT iN HaNdMadE MaCHiNEry ParTS, TECHNiCal iNNOVaTiON aNd iCElaNdiC iNgENuiTy

COd

haDDOCk SaiTHE

lIng

CaTfISh TrOuT SalmOn

TuSk

HakE

MaCHiNE

for Shallow SkiNNiNg of & arCTiC CHar

for WhITefISh & Salmon THE NEw CuriO C 2031 iS a dOublE laNE SkiNNiNg MaCHiNE wHErE EaCH laNE iS OPEraTEd iNdEPENdENTly OF EaCH OTHEr 1. High skinning yield due to a newly designed skinning roller combined with an automatic, sensor controlled pressure hold down system to avoid damaging the fillets during skinning.

2. Electronic measuring system to ensure each fillet is accurately skinned according to its length.

3. New Curio 3011 Touch Panel to control machine functions and monitor both out feed belts with integrated camera system.

4. Fully height adjustable outfeed belt system to deliver fillets gently for example to a trimming table or cutting machine.

5. Variable Speed Infeed/Outfeed Belts

6. Ethernet Connection to allow remote monitoring as well as maintenance, fault finding and software upgrades.

7. The machine is fully manufactured in stainless steel and food grade materials.

Driven by Curio Stainless Steel water cooled motors.

The machine has the ability to instantly move between skin off / skin on production should the machine be placed into a line.

8. Open design for easy cleaning and maintenance. The machine has an integrated automatic greasing system.

HigH tecH, efficient and elegant macHineS for Seafood proceSSing www.curio.is Curio ehf. / Eyrartröð 4 / 220 Hafnarfirði / Iceland Tel: +354 587 4040 / E-mail: curio@curio.is

C-2015 - Knife sharpening

C-2031 - Skinning Machine

C-3027 - Heading Machine

C-2011 - Filleting Machine

Increased high-value product ratio with precision cutting, using a variety of cutting patterns

ON THE CUTTING EDGE -Fishing the News got a hold of the marketing director of the fish division of processing systems company Marel hf., Stella Kristinsdóttir, and spoke to her about a remarkable processing system that marks the first step into a new generation of processing lines for whitefish.

Elín Bragadóttir

“T

his is one of the biggest steps towards automation that we’ve seen in fish processing technology.” From ideas to reality; innovation on the cutting edge of modern technology.

The FleXicut machine combines two important steps in processing We spoke to Stella Björg Kristinsdóttir and asked her about the FleXicut processing system. What is FleXicut? It is a processing system that combines important steps in the process. FleXicut detects a fish’s pinbones using highly sophisticated x-ray technology and subsequently cuts the pinbones away with great precision. This is done with water-jet cutting before the fillet is chopped into conveniently sized bits.

Previously, employees with special training were needed to remove as many pinbones as possible while maintaining the processing speed. FleXicut is a more efficient and quicker way to do things, which adds to the company’s yield.

In order to remove the pinbones the machine is equipped with a high-resolution x-ray scanner which can detect even the most delicate pinbones and cut them away with great precision, using water-jet cutting. Subsequently, the fillet is chopped into pieces according to predetermined cutting patterns.

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As a company that thrives on innovation and the development of hi-tech applications, Marel sees opportunities where others see challenges.

The idea of an automatic whitefish pinbone detection and removal system that could also trim and portion sounded farfetched not too long ago. Today, Marel’s FleXicut system does exactly that, with ease and efficiency. The success of the innovative FleXicut application has enabled Marel to continue to develop systems to enhance the process even further, like the product distribution system located after the FleXicut and the new Innova FleXicut software that delivers even more flexibility and yield than before.

Step into the future FleXicut processes fillets as quickly as the most common filleting machines. Given a fillet weight of 750 g the output is on average almost 50 fillets per minute. The cutting patterns are very uniform, the machine can be preset for multiple cutting patterns and chooses how to cut each fillet based on its length and weight. This inbuilt intelligence is one of FleXicut’s biggest attributes, and ensures the products need much less handling than before.

Furthermore, water-jet cutting is more precise and more flexible than traditional knife cutting, as it can adapt the incision to the bones’ curved shape and sloping surface with great accuracy.

The FleXicut system has already been installed at several facilities, bringing them closer to the forefront of the whitefish processing sector.

This innovative, new generation of automatic pinbone removal and portioning technology has allowed whitefish processors like FISK Seafood, Norway Seafoods, Jakob Valgeir, Vísir

Stella Kristinsdóttir

and Icelandic Ný-Fiskur to greatly reduce labor, increase yield and improve product quality. Even with a small footprint the FleXicut makes a big difference.

Uniform product – flexible application Vísir hf–a company with a large processing facility in Grindavík, Iceland– has been running the FleXicut system since 2015. The company produces salted fish as well as a selection of frozen, fresh, and dried products. “The great benefits we’re seeing are the variety of products we can produce,” says Pétur Pálsson, CEO of Vísir.

“The uniform product we get every time is also a benefit.”

FleXisort distributes portions into different product streams specified by software intelligence

Hi-tech automation One of the major factors in the success of Marel’s equipment and solutions is the strong partnership Marel has enjoyed with companies like Vísir for many years; companies that are forward thinking and constantly on the lookout for new advancements to better their performance and maintain their high product quality standards. “For the seafood industry, working with a company like Marel can bring high value to the sector,” explains Pálsson.

“The FleXicut is one of the biggest steps towards automation that we’ve seen in fish processing technology in a long time.”

New production flow With the introduction of new automated technology, Marel has seen a shift in how processors view the entire processing flow and factory layout. Processors are under pressure and need to meet the demands of a very discerning market that calls for high quality product, at competitive prices. This calls for increased efficiency, faster throughput and increased productivity of both labor and equipment. Marel is constantly looking for new opportunities to enhance fish processing and deliver the next application that helps processors stay ahead, Stella concludes.

Automatic pinbone removal and portioning in one step

FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

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Wise’s employes: Björn Þórhallsson, Jón Heiðar Pálsson og Hallgerður Jóna Elvarsdóttir

An Australian company chooses WiseFish Bára Huld Beck

Jón Heiðar Pálsson

-The software company Wise has many innovations, for example hosting in a cloud, better integration with software and Wise Analyzer. Also, one of the greatest purveyor of salmon in Australia recently adopted the company's software-

T

he software company Wise specializes in business solutions for all sectors of the economy. It emphasizes the Dynamics NAV-accounting system which is convenient for large companies as well as small ones. Wise currently employs 80 people. A new version of the software, WiseFish and Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2017, is currently on the market and it's available by subscription but it can also be obtained and run by customers. The new version has many innovations, foremost of them being better integration with Microsoft Outlook, contacts and a diary, an easier way of producing reports, as well as handling of credit-accounts.

Provides diverse perspectives on information Wise Analyzer is what's known as business intelligence software, fully designed to communicate with the Dynamics NAV basic system, which holds the data under inspection.

Jón Heiðar Pálsson, the head of Wise ehf.'s sales and marketing division, says that Wise Analyzer provides diverse perspectives on information regarding finances, client- and creditoraccounting, supplies and task-accounting. He says that furthermore a Wise BI cube can be inspected with Wise Analyzer from various perspectives. Cubes can be chosen among such options as an economic cube, a stock-cube, a sales-cube and a task-cube.

business connections or human resources, with information being updated either in real time or at a certain point in time and passed on to users in the most convenient fashion each time.

WiseFish for the fishing industry Wise has been ahead in the development of software solutions in the fishing industry for about 20 years and provides services for many companies in this country and abroad. The

solutions that Wise provides span the financial breadth of the fishing industry, from fishfarming and fishing to sales and distribution. Among the specialized solutions Wise provides are the Wise export system and various WiseFish solutions for the fishing industry.

"As is the case in all other businesses it's very important for administrators in the fishing industry to have good oversight," says Jón Heiðar.

Sales dashboard: Sales by product group, customers, items and item categories.

Jón Heiðar says that Wise reports enable users to become subscribers or compile reports with key operational figures regardic finances, operation,

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

Finance results- compared to budget and compared to last year

"WiseFish handles the overall management of the fishing and the fishing methods, how much is brought ashore and of which species.

Also, the program is useful for the calculation of where the fishing quotas stand and managing production processes. WiseFish is connected to other systems on the floor, such as Marel's Innova software, and the system can be made to communicate with peripheral devices such as scales and hand-held computers," he says. He adds that the system offers great possibilities for tracing the progress of the products from fishing and through the processing- and sales-phases all the way to the consumer. Also, in WiseFish, there is an HACCP quality control system which can be used in the whole manufacturing process.

The adoption was successful Tassal, the largest purveyor of salmon in Australia, recently adopted the new versions of Dynamics NAV and WiseFish along with connections to scales and hand-held computers, production systems, contracts, supplies and sales systems.

Jón Heiðar says that in spite of the great distance between Iceland and Australia the adoption was a great success. "It's a great leg-up for Wise that Tassel selected WiseFish and our solutions despite long distances and time-differences," he says. "The web, tablets, telephones and Power BI analytical tools are now part of a standardized

system. We've rewritten WiseFish from scratch, utilized new versions of Dynamics NAV from Microsoft and then we can offer a new function which is also built on Microsoft's basic system."

Tassal is one of the leading fish-manufacturers in the world. It has a local branch in Tazmania, Australia and controls three stations which can produce ten million smolts a year. The company gives consumers a choice between various kinds of proteins with a large selection of salmonproducts, for example fresh ones, smoked ones, canned ones and frozen ones. Tassal is mainly based in four areas where the typical pen is around 11.600 square meters in size and contains enough salmon to produce 80 tons of products.

The company has four main processing centers where the products are produced.

Superior Gold is one of Tassal's most famous trademarks. It's smoked salmon and the gourmet's choice according to the company. The company's marketing department describes it as a superb product as the product is smoked with tender care in the Tazmanian smokehouse.

In the clouds There is a demand in modern times for ready access to information and for the ability to obtain

Currrency trends over a chosen period

Key figures showing the overall results

the data in various ways. Microsoft Office 365 is one of the most popular packages of office software in the world today and is now available from Wise by way of subscription for a monthly fee. By choosing to subscribe to Microsoft Office 365 money is saved on hardware, copying devices and software licenses. "Hosting of accounting services is a convenient option for companies of all sizes and is accessible wherever and whenever," says Jón Heiðar. The number of users can be increased or reduced as needed and the start-up cost is minimal since there is no need to purchase a medial computer device or software licenses.

Jón Heiðar says that there are three types of hosting, depending on each company's needs: subscribing to NAV, choosing a NAV private lease or NAV private hosting. "Hosting makes the accounts accessible from anywhere in the world.

The data is kept in highly sophisticated computer rooms where Microsoft's most competent specialists make sure that the data is safe and can be accessed wherever and whenever. They are kept in the Microsoft Azure data center, which is considered one of the most secure and powerful of its kind in the world," he notes.

It's easy to subscribe More than 120 thousand companies use Microsoft Dynamics NAV today. Jón Heiðar calls it the most powerful and flexible business software on the market. "The system is convenient for large as well as small companies with different needs.

Whether you are a contractor, manufacturer, in the fishing industry, a municipality, in commerce or travel services, Dynamics NAV will meet your needs," says Jón Heiðar. Invoices can be approved, the books logged or the status reviewed online on the tablet, the telephone or the home computer. „Traditional sale of software is morphing into subscriptions and lease of software. In the past year Wise saw an increase of over fifty percent in this mode of purchase. On the website www. navaskrift.is there is a choice between ways of subscribing and access to the software can be ordered. It only takes one day to approve a license and a new accounting system with Dynamic NAV's basic system and the main specialized solutions that work for most companies," Jón Heiðar says. The company has branches in Reykjavík, Akureyri and Norway.

Jón Heiðar says that subscribing is convenient and smooth, seeing as the operational costs are known in advance and a monthly fee is paid for software, upgrades and hosting in a perfect and safe technical environment. Included in the price is the storage of data, copying, security and an SQL database.

Accounts Receivables analysis Wise headquarters at Borgartún 26 FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

17

We l at our b

Bru sse ls , Bel gium

CONNECTING GREENLAND WITH THE WORLD

Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line A/S, the Greenland’s national carrier, have a long-lasting relationship, Eimskip having been an agent for Royal Arctic Line since 1993. In May 2016, Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line signed a letter of intent to form and evaluate a potential cooperation regarding the building of three container vessels and capacity sharing.

In January 2017, Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line signed an agreement to connect Greenland into Eimskip’s international sailing system, so connecting Greenland to the rest of the world. The two companies intend to work together through capacity sharing on larger vessels which will increase efficiency and service reliability. Agreement on this cooperation is seen as a very important step in connecting Greenland to the global market. It will create opportunities for export customers in Greenland by allowing goods to be further refined in Greenland before they are transported directly to destinations all over the world in a more efficient way. Furthermore, customers in Greenland will be able to select transportation directly from new market areas instead of having to go through Denmark.

Eimskip finalized a contract at the end of January with China Shipbuilding Trading Company Limited and Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard Co. Ltd. This is for two 2,150 TEU container vessels, which are expected to be delivered in 2019.

Royal Arctic Line has also signed a contract with the same shipyard for the building of one vessel of the same type.

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

The new vessels will have Ice Class and will be designed in accordance with the Polar Code. The vessels will have an overall length of 180 meters and a breadth of 31 meters and will be fitted with TIER III engines which are specially built to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. They will increase efficiency and service reliability as they are larger than current vessels in the trade and will be well equipped to sail in the North Atlantic. They will consume less fuel per container unit compared to older vessels, with lower emissions due to a built-in scrubber system which minimizes sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions. Larger and more economical vessels will result in lower operational costs per container unit.

The port developments in Nuuk, Reykjavík and Thorshavn will enable larger vessels to serve in Eimskip’s market area. Eimskip foresees that this cooperation will increase business activity between the Arctic nations, especially between Iceland and Greenland, where it been limited due to lack of frequency and direct services.

Gylfi Sigfússon, President and CEO of Eimskip

EIMSKIP GROWING STRONGER EVERY YEAR

Eimskip has just celebrated its 103rd anniversary and has never been stronger.

Eimskip currently operates 21 vessels, 14 chilled and cold-storage facilities in five countries, 26 warehouses in eight countries and terminal operations in 13 locations in four countries. The company runs a network of 60 own offices, works with 69 associates in a total of 48 countries and employs about 1,700 people in 20 countries.

Eimskip has defined its home market as the North Atlantic, stretching from the east coast of North America to the west and north coasts of Norway and embracing Newfoundland and Labrador, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway.

These four countries are all rich in natural resources, which is significant for the design of Eimskip’s sailing system.

At the end of February, Eimskip made changes to its sailing system to strengthen the system and its services still further. With the changes and an additional 700 TEU vessel, the company has increased its capacity by 7-11% on both its European and North American routes. The task ahead is, as before, to maintain and improve the strength of our liner services in the North Atlantic, expand our range of services on the company’s home market and continuously fine-tune our customer services and international forwarding services.

Eimskip is operationally strong and financially stable and is focused on its mission to be a leading transportation company in the North Atlantic, with connections to international markets and to be specialized in worldwide freight forwarding services. The company is motivated by its vision to achieve and maintain excellence in transportation solutions and services.

The company’s forwarding services consist of transportation solutions that lie outside the company’s own liner system, the two complementing each other.

The international forwarding market is complex and highly competitive. We have managed to follow our customers in their globalization by creating a service network in cooperation with various deep-sea lines and other transportation companies all over the world. This service network is constantly evolving and attracting new customers, and the forwarding services have been growing steadily every year.

Eimskip’s strategy is to grow both organically and also through strategic acquisitions. Late last year, we strengthened our freight-forwarding network

by acquiring a majority share in the specialized forwarding company Extraco in the Netherlands. This will strengthen our service network through the Netherlands and consolidate the company’s niche in the international freight-forwarding market.

In January this year, Eimskip and Royal Arctic Line, the national carrier of Greenland, reached an agreement to build together three vessels to serve Greenland and the Scandinavian market, so connecting Greenland better with the rest of the world. This will expand business opportunities between the countries in our home market in the North Atlantic and allow importers in Greenland to source from a wider range of markets than from Denmark alone; it will also allow exporters in Greenland to sell and ship directly to other markets.

Also in January, Eimskip acquired a majority share in Mareco, a Belgian freightforwarding company, which will open the door for Eimskip to new commodities and new markets in Africa and South America. With this acquisition, Eimskip will acquire its first own office in South America in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In November Eimskip signed an agreement to acquire the Norwegian shipping and logistics company Nor Lines, which serves Northern Norway with five vessels, trucking services and terminals. Eimskip is waiting for the Norwegian Competition Authority’s final ruling; in February the authority issued a notice of objection regarding the acquisition.

One of Eimskip’s duties is to make sure that environmental issues are taken seriously. We are actively participating in discussions regarding potential environmental risks and finding ways to minimize the costs of our operations in the North. Iceland’s sovereignty and its strategic geopolitical location make it an ideal platform for such discussions. We are working on reducing Eimskip’s ecological footprint and on monitoring and publishing the results.

I am very optimistic about the future of Eimskip. Operations in our home market will continue to grow, through a stronger sailing system and by constantly looking for ways to improve our customer services. Growth will also be realized with synergies in our international freight-forwarding services and adding strategic acquisitions. We are optimistic, energetic and ambitious, and convinced that we will, with our clear focus on the tasks ahead and the great opportunities at hand, have many more good years to come.

Icelandic national booth at the Seafood expo in Brussel is magnificent.

Alda Áskelsdóttir

I

ntroduction: The biggest Seafood expo in the world is being held in Brussels for the 25th time and has over time grown larger and is now an important marketing- and promotional expo for companies in the seafood industry from all over. All the leading seafood companies of Iceland are showing and introducing their operation, their products and services at the expo. Berglind Steindórsdóttir, at Íslandsstofa, who manages the logistics of the Icelandic national booth says that an exposition like this is really important for the industry, where you can make new buisness contacts and consolidate older contacts.

Icelanders‘ knowledge sought after Icelandic companies are in the lead when it comes to seafood and marine product. In the last decades there has been great progress in the industry and many Icelandic companies are leading in the industry. “Since the Seafood expo in Brussels was held first 25 years ago, Icelanders have always participated and showed the latest and best available at the time. The exposition has grown considerably over the years and is now split into two parts. The first part is dedicated to sea products but the other to machines, devices and servies. Íslandsstofa has a national booth in both parts and its enjoyable to say that the booth with the machines, devices and serives is the biggest of all,“ Berglind says, adding with a hint of pride in her tone: „Icelandic fisheries are sought after to participate in expos all over the world, as they are at the forefront of the industry.“

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

Multiple advantages The seafood expo in Brussels is one of the most international expos held, where 1700 companies from 75 countries show their products and produce. The expo gets aproximately 27.000 visitors from 150 countries so the opportunities and gains could be great. “Despite technology advances there are few things that can replace the face to face communications that expos like this can offer.“ Berglind says that at the expo, representatives from the companies get a chance to meet current clients, maintain contact and show them what is new. That is in no way less important than making new clients. „The companies make their image stronger by participating in a Seafood expo like the one in Brussels due to the strong marketing opportunities. There your focus group is already gathered. Overall the Brussels seafood expo is one of the most important one within the industry to introduce your products and services.

All the key players in the seafood industry are gathered there. Naturally expos like this create new buisness partners as one of the key points of a expo is to expand buisness. Participants get

a chance to see what is happening in their field and to see what their competitors have been up to.“ Berglind says it‘s important that companies prepare properly before going. “To get the most out of it (the expo) it is important to have made contact with current and potential clients and arrange meetings as soon as you can. Then the post-work after returning home is no less important. You need to take care of inquiries that you had in the meanwhile immediately. If that is not done then other companies will get the prize.“ Icelanders do buisness between themselves A lot of icelanders attend the Seafood expo in Brussels and as funny as it sounds it is not uncommon to see them do buisness at the expo. “All the leading icelandic companies in the seafood industry are gathered there at one point. The visitors, be they icelandic or other nationalities, are there to see the latest innovations and give themselves the time to do buisness.

Icelanders check out what the other Icelandic companies are offering and occasionally there are buisness arrangements made afterwards.

Icelandic companies are sought after to attend seafood expos due to their experience in the field.

Sometimes they even stumble upon Icelandic companies that they didn‘t know about and find products or services they were seeking.“ Berglind says that the money the companies use to attend a expo like the one in Brussels is well spent. “The companies can‘t expect everything to happen at first try. Somtimes they have to be patient and show up year after year to get any attention and make a strong image for themselves. Most are looking for long-term buisness and its normal too that the newcomers with a short history don‘t get alot of attention.“ Íslandsstofa runs the national booth Berglind is no newcomer when it comes to organizing the attendance of Icelandic companies at international expos. She has been doing that for 16 years. „This is a fun and fulfilling job with a lot of details to take care of when 32 companies are participating, like in Brussels this year“. In the national booth the 32 companies show themselves. Aside from the 32 companies under the national booth there are independent companies with their own booths. Unlike what

other nations had going for themselves, the Icelandic companies are paying all the cost for participating in the expo instead of having goverment grants. “We at Íslandsstofa help them with the logistics and preperation so when they arrive at the expo they only have to put up their produce“ It sounds simple to arrange the logistics and preparation for the icelandic companies for expos like this, but at closer inspection it‘s not that easy. “There‘s a lot of things to take care of,“ Berglind says. “We supervise what needs to be sent to Brussels, produce and other things, we arrange for the floor space and divide it between participants. Then there is for example electricity and water, order furniture, coolers and all the other things the companies need.“ Berglind says that it is her job to make sure that all of that happens, and be there if any mishaps occur.

Important to show under the flag of Iceland A lot of ambition is put into making the booths of the companies look proper and most of them have designers helping out. “Everything has to look proper and the image must be perfect.“ It is important to offer the companies the option The Seafood expo is one of the most internationally acclaimed ones, with over 1700 companies from over 75 countries showing their products. There are aproximately 27.000 guest from over 150 countries so there are great opertunities and great potential gains.

of participating in the national booth – to show what they offer under the flag of Iceland. “People look to Iceland when it comes to seafood, produce and technology. The companies are of different sizes and it helps the smaller companies to be a part of a bigger image. They become more visible and look bigger. They also get a chance to look at other companies in the industry that are flying under the flag of Iceland.“ A diverse and fun job When Berglind is asked about what is most fun about the job she has an immediate answer: “It‘s fun to see an idea become a reality. Maybe you can say my job is like a jigsaw puzzle. I start with one puzzle and then arrange the rest one by one.

Slowly and steadily the picture starts to reveal itself and in the end it is ready.“ Berglind says it is no less enjoyable that she meets a lot of good people in the job. “I manage most expos that Íslandsstofa gets involved with, aside from the expos that the travel industry participates in. After a long career I have had fulfilling and enjoyable communications with a lot of people and seen Icelandic companies grow and prosper.“ She adds, humorously: “It‘s allso fun to travel and see new countries, even if i only see the hotel, the expo hall and then restaurants. It is still a good change from every day.“

Berglind Steindórsdóttir at Íslandsstofa is no newcomer when it comes to organizing participation of icelandic companies at international expos. She has been working at this for 16 years and says that the money the companies put into getting themselves at expos like the one in Brussels is well spent.

Vökvakerfislausnir Vökvadælur, vökvamótorar og stjórnbúnaður Stjórnbúnaður skipa. Tæknibúnaður sem ætlaður er til notkunar á sjó mætir erfiðustu hugsanlegu skilyrðum. Álag óblíðrar náttúru, miklar hitabreytingar og stöðugur ágangur af söltum sjó, eykur þörf viðskiptavina fyrir áreiðanlegan og skilvirkan búnað.

Danfoss hf. Skútuvogi 6, 104 Reykjavík, Sími: 510 4100

FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

On the factory floor, building the fish processing machines.

Fish-processing machines more popular than expected Katrín Lilja Jónsdóttir

C

urio ehf. is one of the companies participating in the fishing industry expo in Brussels from 25 - 27 April.

The company manufactures fishprocessing machines for the processing of whitefish; that is, filleting, beheading and descaling of cod, haddock, coalfish, ling, tusk and rock salmon. Since the founding of Curio in 2007 it has managed to double its turn over each year. Now the company, originally intended to be a small one, has four bases of operation in Iceland. It has also expanded beyond the bounds of Scotland, along with a spare parts warehouse to service foreign clients. In addition, agreements are being finalized for the purchase of a factory in Scotland where repair-services are to be built and engines assembled. "We're trying to improve our services because the market has grown so large," says Elliði Hreinsson, CEO and founder of Curio and designer of the fish-processing machines.

About 85% of Curio's products are sold abroad.

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

A quick build-up and great demand "We took of majestically right from the beginning.

You might say that I missed the financial collapse," says Elliði. As stated before, the company has grown beyond expectations. "I told my wife that this time it would be a small company with two or three employees, I didn't want the hassle," says Elliði, who had then recently parted ways with previous business partners and founded Curio.

Three months after it was founded, Curio really took off. "We just chased orders and tried to keep up," says Elliði and notes that the number of two or three employees has now grown to just under thirty.

The company is categorized as a microcorporation on the international market but in spite of that has gained a solid foothold on the European continent and in the British isles. Also fishing operators in Iceland have been positive towards Curio's fish-processing machines. "To a great extent this success can be attributed to the Icelandic customers who had the courage to go for it and try out some new machines," says Elliði.

Elliði Hreinsson, CEO of Curio.

A booth in Brussels for the first time Curio will have a booth in the fishing industry expo in Brussels this year for the first time.

Elliði says that the expo in Brussels is an ideal opportunity for introducing the company, being the largest international fishing industry expo.

He himself has participated in the expo since 2008 but never had his own booth there. This time around the plan is to better promote the machines and one of Curio's machines will be brought along.

"The fish-processing genre is a sewing circle, in that everyone hears about everything that works well," says Elliði and cites Curio's first months as an example. "I think our most saleable asset has been the machines. The customers come to us, having examined the others. They're really just placing orders. We never would have exceeded the mark of a hundred machines sold around the world if we were going after the customers. We have more often been receiving orders." Now the company has one sales agent situated in Aberdeen, Scotland, but Elliði says that Curio's fish-processing machines have sold very well in the British isles. Also that the machines have traversed the ocean to the west, to the United States.

Spreading Icelandic culture Each and every one of Curio's machines gets its own unique name. Elliði says that idea originated when Curio started doing business with the fishprocessing plant Einhamar in Grindavík, where everything is named after characters and locations from the saga of Gísli Súrsson. The first machines that were sold to them were named Bóthildur and Svartur, after the slaves that aided Gísli in his escape, in order to hold on to the tradition of Einhamar. Curio then continued naming the machines and Elliði has had to name hundreds of machines.

"I've done it in themes. Once we named all the filleting machines after valkyries from Norse mythology. We've been naming the descaling machines after trollups," says Elliði and points out a few books on the shelves, which he has collected for inspiration. "It usually gors over very well," says Elliði with a chuckle. Sometimes he includes a description along with the names. "It gives the machines character, especially if there are many of them in the building.

Then there's no confusion. Then you can simply say: "Hrund or Álfheiður need to be checked.""

Elliði by the machine that goes to Brussels this year. It was still being built when a reporter stopped by the workshop.

The name Curio is not Icelandic though and Elliði says that the name was chosen completely at random. "I took an English dictionary and leafed through it, placed my finger on a word and it was Curio. It means something unique. So that was that," Elliði says with a chuckle.

Improved services and better instruction In the near future the service will be further improved. In the past few years Curio's employees have been instructed on the use of the machines as they receive them and that

Part of the domestic stock room of spare parts

further instructions are required. Maintenance is important for the machines and Elliði says that Curio tries its best to provide preemptive maintenance in each country. For instance, they have good collaborators in Norway, providing some pre-organized maintenance there. "It's rare for it to malfunction so badly that they can't take care of it themselves," says Elliði.

The annex to the production building in Hafnarfjörður will in part be converted into a better employee-space, but also into a Curioschool. A space will be created there for Curio's employees, where it will be possible to study the machines further.

Also it will be assumed that the customer has received a machine a few months and gained some experience in its use, Then a person will be sent to Curio, with experience in the machine's use, who is then able to further improve his skills in maintaining the machines. "We've had a minimal operation and we've always lacked a facility and had to do without a proper space," says Elliði.

In the spring a new facility should be up and running and then customers, foreign as well as domestic, will be able to better study the operation and maintenance of the machines.

Elliði says that the plan is to keep the Curio-school open about six times a year but that it will to some extent be decided by the demand.

He expects to reach a maximum size in Iceland next year and does not plan to expand the operations much more in Scotland beyond that which is already under way.

FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

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The fishing vessel Málmey is a Pioneer in SUB-CHILLING™

“Product quality is on the agenda at all times” Þórný Sigurjónsdóttir

A

dvanced economy demands improved technology.

Fish production, a cornerstone in Iceland’s economy, is no exception. An Icelandbased food processing company Skaginn 3X introduces pioneering technologies that can revolutionize the fish industry by increasing the storage period, the quality of fresh fish products, reduce the transportation cost as well as being environmentally friendly.

SUB-CHILLING™, a feasible storage solution for fish Preserving the quality of a fresh product is crucial in the fish industry. With longer storage life a trawler can spend more time harvesting fish without the need to return to the port for unloading. Moreover, better-preserved fish is more easily sold at the market with benefits such as longer shelf life. Traditionally, storing fish on board vessels involves cooling the fish to 0⁰C with ice, reducing the harmful activity of bacteria and enzymes but not eliminating it as the freezing point of fish is slightly below zero. Freezing the fish on board would increase the storage life of the fish but ice crystals damage the flesh of the fish that drastically affects the quality and is therefore not

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

a favorable option. A solution is chilling the fish uniformly below 0 ⁰C, down to its freezing point, and keeping the temperature strictly the same during the storage period. The technology behind this approach, commonly known as superchilling, has been known for years, but has mostly remained a theoretical concept due to strict requirements to the temperature control on trawlers under arduous working conditions.

Skaginn 3X has come up with a technology which has made superchilling on board trawlers not only practical, but economically feasible.

As Jón Birgir Gunnarsson, the marketing and sales executive at Skaginn 3X explains, the technology, now referred to as SUB-CHILLING™, has the potential to become the future of the fish processing industry.

Skaginn 3X - putting quality first The companies 3X Technology ehf and Skaginn hf, both originating from small fishing villages in Iceland with decades of experience in solving problems of fish processing plants, have joined forces and formed Skaginn 3X. According to

Jón Birgir the company’s main strength lies in its ability to offer solutions where there is need: “We Jón Birgir Gunnarsson emphasize cooperation with our customers and other players on the market, our solutions are complimentary, we are solving problems for our customers that other companies are not”. Jón Birgir furthermore says; “product quality is on the agenda at all times, product quality, yield and more automation in a nutshell.”

Cooling the product to its freezing point The process of SUB-CHILLING™ is reducing the temperature of the fish down to its freezing point and keeping it at that specific temperature. Jón Birgir explains: “Different species have different freezing points, just as water has a freezing point of 0 ⁰C, fish has a lower freezing point than that, as an example we cool cod to -0.9 ⁰C and salmon -1.5 ⁰C”. The key feature is flexibility when handling different species and the process has to be carried out in a controlled way. Jón Birgir says: “SUB-CHILLING™ is the ability to cool fish down to its specific freezing point, below 0 ⁰C, allowing a maximum of 20% of ice crystals to form. A key feature is to keep the crystals small, if you freeze below that the fish will not hold its quality.”

Fish stored at -0,9°C without ice

Seawater fish best suited for SUB-CHILLING™ The fish best suited for SUB-CHILLING™ is, according to Jón Birgir, fish that lives in sea water, “we use seawater or even add salt as well in the process of cooling the fish, so we have not yet tried to see how it would work on freshwater fish.

Extending the technology on freshwater fish is a future challenge”.

RoteX tank used for SUB-CHILLING™

RoteX on-board equipment Skaginn 3X came up with a feasible solution for on-board superchilling of fish and produces equipment based on this technology; “for example, our RoteX on-board equipment is a big spiral device, which cools the fish as well as conveying it forward combining several stages of superchilling in a highly automated process with different temperatures for the different stages, as it is not possible to cool the fish in a single stage”.

The process takes 45-60 minutes, after which the sub-chilled fish can be stored in containers.

Clean, fresh and intact fish The main benefits of superchilling fish are threefold according to Jón Birgir. Firstly, the product has extended shelf life, up to one week longer compared to traditional cooling process using ice. Secondly the flesh of the fish is stronger which leads to fewer defects, like gaping, filleting failures and deformities. Thirdly the fish itself works as a refrigerant in the process, so no ice is needed to keep it cool, which in turn eliminates the harmful effect that ice has on the product. Jón Birgir explains: “Inevitably, ice and liquids in a tub will squeeze into the fish, causing deformation and mechanical damages of the flesh and

furthermore the melted ice starts to infuse more bacteria growth in the fish. Imagine opening a box with salmon that has been transported in a box with ice and seeing the fish floating in water and blood versus opening a box with fish that has been cooled using SUB-CHILLING™, clean, fresh and intact, it is a very visual image of the quality difference.”

Carbon footprint reduced Eliminating ice from the storage process means lighter containers, which reduces the weight considerably and makes the transportation more efficient and environmentally friendly. Jón Birgir says: “You are not investing your resources into the transportation of ice that will then not be used”. One of the company’s main research projects at the moment is on their carbon footprint; “we know we can already have a huge impact on quality, a huge impact on economics for our customers, we would also like to have scientific proof of our environmental impact that would fall into two categories, carbon footprint as well as water consumption. We want to be able to tick all the boxes and we believe we can but we would like to get it scientifically proven as well.”

No ice means 20% lighter transportation

Superior quality cod four days after fishing

Storing without ice a new concept The advantages of SUB-CHILLING™ fish are many and it has gotten positive feedback from third party researchers in the fishing industry, but how does it work to sell the idea to a market already used to traditional cooling methods? Jón Birgir says that they are fighting a perception that is long held in the community of fishery that fish should be stored in ice; “it can be a challenge, we don’t only have to sell the idea to our customers, but also to their customers. But once they have tried the product they can both taste and see the difference in quality and want to continue receiving our product.”

A growing market for SUB-CHILLING™ solutions For the last two years the fishing vessel Málmey SK1, owned by Fisk Seafood, has been using Skaginn 3X RoteX equipment to cool fish aboard without using ice with successful results.

Furthermore Arnarlax, a company that produces salmon, has been using equipment from Skaginn 3X for SUB-CHILLING™ their product with positive results. Both are pioneers in adopting the subchilling technology from Skaginn 3X. The market of Skaginn 3X is not only limited to Iceland but is growing bigger and wider, with potential buyers in Russia, UK, Norway and USA to name a few examples. Jón Birgir says: “Our place on the market is strong – the demand is high, the market is bursting, we seem to have the right products and to have done the right product development in the last few years.”

Latest innovations for show at Brussels Seafood Exposition During the Seafood Exposition in Brussels in April, 2017, Skaginn 3X will showcase their latest innovations, including the first automated fish hold in a trawler that can also be used to lift the fish off the boat when on land, where, as Jón Birgir explains: “no-one has ever to go down to the fish hold, the need for dangerous jobs is reduced, the working environment of the fishermen is made safer and easier, more people can be invested in the first stage of the process, that is, gutting and bleeding, therefore increasing the quality of the fish”. Skaginn 3X will furthermore showcase state-of-the-arts processing plants with higher automation and product quality, the benefits of SUB-CHILLING™ and RoteX Thawing® solutions, where fish blocks frozen at sea can be thawed in a controlled way so the quality of the fish remains as best as possible, and solutions on by-products such as high quality mince made from the frame of the fish, among other solutions.

Skaginn 3X has a strong belief in the approach of retaining the quality in the fish by cooling it when it is caught, investing in the practical implementation of the SUB-CHILLING™ technology. Jón Birgir says; “we have to make sure our customers are benefitting from our innovations, the SUB-CHILLING™, the automation and from other solutions we have.”

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World-class product

Linda Hannesdóttir

-Fishing the News got a hold of the marketing director of the fish division of processing systems company Opal Seafood ehf., Linda Hannesdóttir, and spoke to her about a remarkable processing of salmon.

Elín Bragadóttir

R

ight temperature through every stage Opal Seafood is a small familyowned company situated in Hafnafjörður in Iceland. “We work with traditional craftsmanship passed down by three generations” says Linda. The ingredients used are all natural and of the highest quality.

This attention to every detail during production guarantees a refined product that is easily recognized by its look and taste.

“The salmon we use is, always of the highest quality and very fresh”. It is farmed in Iceland and processed shortly after being harvested. “The proximity to the source, gives us the possibility to capture the freshness at early stage and guarantee healthy and very tasteful products” The end product is guaranteed “never frozen”.

We also offer other farmed species, such as Arctic Char and organic Rainbow Trout. Other species that we use are mainly wild, such as the Haddock, Cod, Greenland halibut, Mackerel and Herring, are caught on the coast of Iceland and brought in the next day for transformation.

Smoking fish consists, basically, of different stage of temperature controlled processes. Our products are carefully controlled at the right

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

temperature through every stage of filleting, salting and smoking. After smoking it is critical to bring down the temperature as quickly as possible, as to avoid certain strains of pathogen development. Finally, every filet ant every slice is controlled. “We offer many different forms and shapes, as we have developed different slicing and portioning, which is made by hand”.

For example, the hand slicing offers to client’s different thickness, shapes, amount of fat left on slice and of course the size. All this ensures that when our customers buy an Opal Seafood product it meets the highest requirements. “We pay attention to every detail” says Linda.

From the quality control of the fish at its reception, to the packing of every slice of salmon, the product goes through a rigorous inspection to create the best final product. This applies both to quality and presentation. Our products are filleted by hand for a beautiful looking and best quality fillet. Our products are made by hand.

They are hand filleted, salted by hand, suspended by a hand to ensure vertical smoking, sliced or portioned by hand and the final presentation is made by hand as well.

Siggi Hall (Television celebrity cook and author of various cookbooks): “The vertically smoked salmon from JohannssonSmokehouse is a world-class product; that I can promise. I have travelled to the greatest chefs throughout the world and made them taste it – they all agree that it is fantastic”

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Vísir hf.

A Family-run Fishing Company, Utilizing the Whole Fish

Fresh fish production at Vísir hf“ photograph: Marel hf.

Þórný Sigurjónsdóttir

R

esponsible use of natural resources is essential for a modern, sustainable economy. Vísir hf, an Icelandic fishing company, combines modern technology and several generations of family tradition to ensure that nothing of what the ocean gives is wasted.

A family run company Vísir hf is a family-run fishing company located on the Reykjanes peninsula in Grindavík. Erla Ósk Pétursdóttir, human resources and development manager at Vísir hf, tells that the company was founded in 1965 by her grandfather and two of his colleagues, “my grandfather eventually bought all the shares and now my father, his son, is the CEO of the company with his siblings and brothers-in-law working for the company, so it is a big family company. You could say I grew up in the fishing industry; I started working there when I was 14, and after studying and working abroad I came back in 2009”.

Two processing facilities Vísir operates two facilities, a fresh-and frozen fish plant and a saltfish plant as well as operating five long-line fishing vessels. Vísir hf furthermore employs close to 300 people, around 100 being fishermen, Erla says; “we are very lucky with our

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

employees, the majority has stayed with us for a long time and we are very grateful that we have all these good people working for us”. Vísir hf fishes haddock, tusk, ling and blue-ling, but Vísir’s main focus is on cod fishing.

Responsible fishing Vísir places great importance on responsible fishing, dynamic processing and product quality.

Vísir participates in the Iceland Responsible Fisheries program and has a MSC certification.

On responsible fishing Erla says that the most important aspect relates to the management of the fisheries: “The environmental certifications are based on the fact that the fish stock is responsibly fished, based on scientific data, and then each company has to prove that they can trace their fish back to that certified stock”.

Data collecting to ensure quality Vísir’s traceability system has been in place for almost twenty years, Erla says: “We collect data from our vessels using the Trackwell system, and then link it to our other programs, Innova on the production side and Wise for sales and accounting. This data collecting comes in handy as we can direct our vessels to the best possible fish based on research of the area and then we can also trace it the other way round, from our costumers back to the fishing grounds”.

Vísir’s new high tech plant In 2014 Vísir built the fresh fish and freezing plant which incorporates highly modern and technologically advanced solutions, built and designed by Icelandic companies, Erla tells: “There is a long history of collaboration between the tech companies and the fishing industry and it was nice to see the fruit of that labour realized in the freezing facility, all under one roof. We often refer to our fresh fish and freezing plant as the 100% house, because we are both using 100% of the raw material of the fish and also it is 100% Icelandic”.

Collaborating with Marel on the FleXicut machine The collaboration with Marel, an Icelandic food processing company, illustrates well a successful partnership where both parties gain from the co-operation, Erla says; “Marel finished the development of the FleXicut machine in our facility. The FleXicut machine scans the fillet, detects where the bones are and decides how the fillet should be cut to maximize the value of the fish by cutting optimal portions based on market prices” and Erla adds, “we want to ensure both optimum utilization and maximum value for the fish”.

Traditional saltfish and light-salted fish Vísir’s salting facility has been located in the same house since the inception of the company over 50 years ago. And although it has gone through

multiple technological advances it still produces traditional saltfish, wet salted cod, tusk and ling.

The salting process is a traditional preservation method and before consuming the fish it has to be soaked in water. Vísir has in addition started the production of light-salted fish, Erla explains: “for people who feel they do not have time to soak the saltfish, we started producing light-salted, frozen fillets where you get this characteristic salt taste without the need to soak the fish”. Erla furthermore says: “Traditional saltfish is very popular in Southern Europe where the consumption is seasonal, and although there is an increase in the popularity of light-salted fish the demand for traditional saltfish remains strong”.

Iceland well suited for fresh fish production In recent years the trend in sales has been towards fresh fish as well as light-salted products.

Erla says: “During the first decades of Vísir it only produced saltfish, this has changed quite dramatically and now 50% of our product is fresh or frozen fish”. Vísir sells their fresh fish to Europe and to the US. Erla says that their fresh fish products are well received abroad. “I think Iceland is well suited both geographically and logistically to get fresh fish to the market in a short time. The fishing grounds are close, the production chain Splitting cod at the salt-fish facility” photograph: Portra ehf.

Offloading Sighvatur fishing-vessel in Grindavík harbour” photograph: Portra ehf.

is uninterrupted and we often have multiple transportation channels to the markets. All of these factors help deliver the products to the consumer quickly and in top quality”.

Fresh product and close vicinity to an international airport Vísir places strong emphasis on retaining the high-quality of the raw material all the way through the production, Erla says: “We take good care of keeping the product as fresh as possible, we only use long line vessels and when the fish comes on board it is placed in tubs and iced, and not touched until it comes to the plant”.

Additionally Vísir hf is located in close vicinity to Keflavík airport, being only 20 minutes away, which further ensures fast delivery to their customers’ abroad.

The Hnakkaþon Competition 2017 Vísir hf was the case study in this year’s Hnakkaþon competition, a collaboration project between Fisheries Iceland and Reykjavík University. The challenge was to find ways to increase Vísir’s consumer products in a costeffective and sustainable manner, Erla says: “A few teams came up with suggestions on how we could get closer to the consumer with the technology we have”. The winning proposal “Wild Icelandic Cod” presented a solution with

environmentally friendly packaging and specific cooking instructions which both emphasized the freshness of the product as well as the need of the modern consumer. Erla commented that; “it was really fun to be a part of this challenge as we are constantly evaluating how far into the market we should go and I think that the solution they presented was very interesting and a good input into our discussions within the company”.

Utilizing the whole fish Among Vísir’s ambitions is to utilize everything they get from the ocean, from the meat of the fish to the bones and skin, Erla explains: “The heads and frames are dried in Haustak, a company we co-own with Þorbjörn hf., which uses geothermal energy and hot water to dry the products. That cooperation worked so well that 5 years ago we started a company called Codland where we develop food supplements like fish oil and collagen from underutilized raw material from the fish. We not only utilize the whole fish but strive to make the most value out of each part of it”.

The first collagen plant in Iceland Vísir hf has signed a memorandum of understanding with Codland and three other Icelandic companies, Þorbjörn, HB Grandi and Samherji, to start the building of a collagen plant in Reykjanes this summer. Erla says that; “we see great potential for getting higher value from other parts of the fish. The production of hydrolyzed collagen from fish skin is a known process but we have not been producing it in Iceland. Some companies have been exporting their fish skin, but others have simply been trying to find outlets for it to avoid throwing it away.

Erla adds: “We are joining forces and bringing the production to Iceland which will also give us a chance for further development here. We see great potential in producing collagen here in Iceland as it has the same selling points we have with the fish, that is to say, we have high quality raw material, traceable back to a responsibly managed fish stock. It will be exciting to see how this project develops in the coming years”.

The Food Exposition in Brussels During the Food Exposition in Brussels Vísir hf will have a booth showcasing their different fish products, Erla adds; “Our clients find that the work we are doing on other products, on the collagen for example, to be very interesting and would like to incorporate that into their sales or tell their customers about it. Even if we are for the most part selling fish at Brussels I foresee answering a lot of questions on how we utilize 100% of the fish”.

FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

29

Salesgroup About Fish at the opening of a new Freezing Facility VSV 2016

With branches worldwide - The sales company About Fish in the Westman Islands has been busily expanding in the past year and is about to participate in a fishing industry expo in Brussels-

Bára Huld Beck

“W

e've reached pretty far abroad," says About Fish operational manager Björn Matthíasson. About Fish is a sales company owned and run by Vinnslustöðin in the Westman Islands.

The company was founded in 2003 and currently runs multiple sales branches worldwide. In Iceland there are about four to five full time employment slots and they have around ten employees abroad. The company has a sales branch in Iceland, Germany, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and Russia.

About Fish's role is first and foremost that of selling the products of Vinnslustöðin and Björn says that the purpose of the company's sales branches in foreign countries is for keeping its people close to the markets that are being serviced. "We have people who are inhabitants in these market areas and know the markets and the culture. That's our way of getting a sense for what is happening from day to day," he says.

Björn adds that the company is penetrating deeper into the markets in order to better understand them and prioritizing sales to those who process the products over those who merely trade it forward to another buyer. "We're getting closer to the eventual consumer," says Björn. The goal being to reduce the number of middlemen.

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

Not to put all your eggs into one basket "The markets that we are working really span most of the earth and we seek ways to maximize the value of the products. Thus we are trying to decide the ultimate destination of a product based on where it can currently fetch the best price," says Björn. He adds that the company is also seeking a foothold in markets which they want to keep open even though they may not always offer the best prices. "But we're still trying to get into markets to disperse the risk. We're not placing all our eggs in one basket because markets can collapse and clam up," he says.

Björn cites the example of the Russian market and notes that depending solely on that market proved to be disastrous.

Björn says that they are also trying to disperse risk with regards to currencies. "We're trying to distribute the sales among several currencies so that we won't be completely invested in one place like, for example, what happened when the British pound collapsed not so long ago," he says. "And who knows, the króna is strengthening unnecessarily quickly and expansively. That is a very serious situation that needs to be rolled back. So it is the role of sales networks to enter markets where the company wants to be present, keep them alive, disperse the risk and so on," he notes.

Björn Matthíasson

After a trade embargo on Russia took effect the company entered markets like Egypt and Turkey, according to Björn. "Those markets, in this year and the previous ones, have been very weak financially so we've mostly pulled out from there because they've had trouble acquiring dollars to pay for the product," he says, adding that this is especially the case with Egypt, where the financial situation is not good.

Good to have an employee present A lot of products go into the areas where About Fish sales branches reside. The company has a branch in Germany where it sells a lot of fresh, unprocessed redfish. "We have a branch in Portugal where the local entity sells all the salt fish into the Portuguese market and all the lobster into the Spanish market. We have a

Picture taken in our booth in the Qindao expo in China

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

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branch in France where we send fresh products and fresh, unprocessed fish. There we also have a person distributing the product and selling it, who is answerable if issues arise. That is also the reason why this kind of sales network is created.

It is critically important for Vinnslustöðin to have a business partner present in the market who is then able to inspect the product and provide answers for the buyers," says Björn, adding that it is much easier to communicate in the markets' vicinity than to do so from Iceland.

According to Björn, these markets rise quickly, especially the fresh fish markets. "And they drop quickly and dramatically. The world collapses fast if sales stop and that is why it's good to have a person present to be accountable and provide answers for people. It is a very vibrant area, lots happening and great speed," he says.

New markets But even though they have sales branches all around the world they constantly have their feelers out and are currently looking into the American market. "We have been doing a bit of market research with regards to that market area, primarily for round fish products. In the pelagic part the markets that have come up for discussion are Iraq and Iran. We know that a significant quantity of mackerel is entering these markets through other entities to whom we've been selling. The Turks are packing mackerel and sending into these areas. There are many unexplored markets worth millions," he says.

Björn says that the company has also been doing some preparatory work for the sale of products to Brazil. Thus there is always some market research to be done, people looking far afield so as to not get stuck in a rut. "We hold our own in many places and try to distribute our products well without seeking too much risk. Covering our bases to be able to deal with certain crises when markets stagnate or collapse," he says.

Overlooking the harbor area in Vestmanmaeyjar and VSV

for the entire sales group to meet. Secondly, most of the customers come to the expo and check it out. "Thus it becomes a venue for us to meet our current clientele. They sit down there and review the past year or season and exchange ideas and go over things," he says. Thirdly, many of the expo's participants approach them at the booth and make inquiries into their products. "We write down all the contacts that visit us and show an interest in our products. We make careful notes and then we contact everyone when we get home. We thank each person for visiting us at the booth, open up a dialogue and see if there is a chance for further communication or even business," says Björn.

About Fish also goes to an expo in China for the Asian market and the Chinese market.

"We've been there for the past few years with great success. We've been working on making little inroads into these markets," says Björn. In this respect he adds that Vinnslustöðin started

operating a new pelagic freezing plant where pelagic products are being blast frozen, making them even more viable in the Asian market.

Can take on even more quantity About Fish has also sold products from a third party. "We've been selling some quantity of the products of Huginn, which is a refrigerated cargo carrier, and once in a while we've taken in products from others in limited projects," says Björn. He says that one of the challenges, which they knew they would face when these sales branches had been opened worldwide, was that entities could actually sell more than they received through Vinnslustöðin. He says that they also had their eyes open for third party sales because the sales network can take on more quantity than it currently does but the emphasis must always be on moving the products of Vinnslustöðin. "This is a lively and fun environment and always offers some new challenges," he says.

Meeting and assessing the situation in Brussels About Fish participates annually in a fishing industry expo in Brussels. The coming expo will be held in April and it will be the fifth one in which the company takes part. This has been very positive, according to Björn. "We have a large, high-quality booth where all the sales branches come together. There are, as is to be expected, many sales branches worldwide and this is one venue for them all to come together. We always do that before an expo," he says.

The purpose of the expo is actually threefold, according to Björn. For one thing, this is a venue

Picture taken at our booth in the Brussels expo

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FISHING THE NEWS APRIL 2017

For VSV sustainability is the key Every single day our core values guide us through our

As one of Iceland‘s leading seafood companies VSV operates

operations, from the very catch at sea, through processing,

a fleet of fishing vessels and specified processing plants.

quality control and marketing.

VSV promotes its products through agents and its own sales

Our core values of sustainability, respect and the well-being of

and marketing outlets in Finland, Germany, France, Portugal,

our employees and the local community provide us with the

Japan and South-East Asia.

impetus to live up to our corporate social responsibility.

To be delivered this year, wetfish trawler Breki VE is the latest addition to VSV‘s fleet.

Loaded to the rim, Kap VE brings a large catch of capelin in for processing.

We welcome you to our stand at the Seafood Expo Global in Brussels

Hall 6 • Stand 839-7 Frozen products on the conveyor belt in VSV‘s groundbreaking pelagic processing plant, opened late in 2016.

VSV will open its brand new freezing storage facilities later this year.

Hafnargata 2 | 900 Vestmannaeyjar | ICELAND | vsv.is

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Wise » Borgartún 26, Reykjavík » Hafnarstræti 93-95, Akureyri » Iceland Tel.: + 354 545 3200 » sales@wise.is » wise.is

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6127-4

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Wise » Borgartún 26, Reykjavík » Hafnarstræti 93-95, Akureyri » Iceland Tel.: +354 545 3200 » sales@wise.is » wisefish.com

Strong Roots

VĂ­sir is an experienced yet innovative fishing company, which operates exclusively long-line vessels and runs its state-of-the-art processing facilities in GrindavĂ­k, one of the most vibrant fishing towns in Iceland.

VĂ­sir offers a rich variety of premium groundfish products and serves a broad group of demanding customers from all over the globe.

We look forward to seeing you at booth 839-4 in Hall 6 at the Seafood Expo in Brussels.

Visirhf.is