Reykjavík, November 24-25
SEAFOOD ICELAND CONFERENCE 2016
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT
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The small fishing boat SÆRÚN ST 27 in Steingrímsfjörður fjord, Strandir region, Northwest Iceland. PHOTO BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON.
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PILLAR OF THE ECONOMY The seventh annual Seafood Conference Iceland (Sjávarútvegsráðstefnan) will be held at Harpa, Reykjavík, November 24-25.
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n a global scale, Iceland ranks 14th as a fishing nation, and has ranked from 10th to 21st place since 1950. Few nations are as dependent on fisheries as Iceland. Through the centuries, the fishing industry has been vital for the national economy, only recently giving way to tourism as Iceland’s largest industry. In centuries past, fishing meant strenuous and dangerous work in small open rowboats. The first small trawler arrived in Iceland in 1905, and soon, motorized trawlers replaced the decked sailboat. Since the second half of last century, the Icelandic fleet has been constantly modernized for improved efficiency, crew safety and comfort. Currently the national fishing fleet numbers 1,655 vessels: 833 small undecked boats, 764 decked vessels, and 58 trawlers. Today, roughly 5,000 people, or 4 percent of the population, work at sea. The productivity of the Icelandic fishing fleet is among the highest in the world. On average, an
Icelandic fisherman catches 210 tons of fish per year; three times more than his Norwegian counterpart, and eight times more than the average fisherman in the EU. The Icelandic economy has always been heavily dependent on export/import. To pay for the import of grain, minerals and manufactured products, we needed to export goods, and from the 14th century until the beginning of last century, around half of the exports were marine products. The importance of marine products steadily increased and reached 90 percent of the total merchandise export in the period from 1930 to 1967, when the herring stocks collapsed and the ratio of marine products to total merchandise export fell sharply. The fishing industry recovered and today it’s as important as ever to this small island nation of only 330,000 souls. Along with tourism, aluminum smelting and the fast-growing IT industry, fisheries is one of the four pillars of the Icelandic national economy.
COMPILED BY ELLIOTT BRANDSMA, EYGLÓ SVALA ARNARSDÓTTIR AND JENNA GOTTLIEB. INTRODUCTION AND COVER PHOTO BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON.
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TALKING ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY
Seafood Conference Iceland is a two-day conference focusing on the Icelandic fishing industry, and will include sessions on sustainability, processing and technology.
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he seventh annual Seafood Conference Iceland (Sjávarútvegsráðstefnan) returns to Reykjavík this winter and will feature diverse topics, ranging from sustainability to technology. Taking place November 24 and 25 at Harpa, there will be keynote speeches, presentations, seminars and breakout sessions both days. PLATFORM FOR THE INDUSTRY The conference will cover a diverse group of topics on the opening day, including Iceland’s foreign policy on fisheries, issues regarding the Russian market, as well as Iceland’s policies on processing and technology. There will be numerous breakout sessions to attend during the conference, including topics on fishing mackerel, production control, trends in sustainability, as well as the latest technology in fish processing. The purpose of this conference is to create a platform for the seafood industry to meet in Iceland and talk about fish farming, processing, harvesting, research, marketing and sales. The goal is to focus on the key challenges in the field of fisheries and to share ideas and encourage important, innovative work. SUSTAINABLE FISHING Iceland is increasingly recognized for its commitment to sustainable fishing and innovative processing methods. “The industry continually looks for ways to improve efficiency and make better use of energy resources and achieve a greater level of automation,” says Alda Gylfadóttir, chair of the conference. “The overall aim is to increase the social responsibility of Icelandic fisheries and this will be discussed at the conference.” What makes this conference unique is the commitment to covering all aspects of the fishing business in Iceland and to have a variety of speakers, including international fishing executives, local business owners and thought leaders. ICELAND REVIEW
Alda Gylfadóttir, chair of the conference.
IMPACT OF QUOTAS The introduction of the quota system presented major changes to the industry and that continues today. Historically, the introduction of the quota brought about a change in how fisheries began to look for ways to maximize the value and performance of the sector. Additionally, there was a commitment to make use of all raw materials and by-products. Sessions will discuss how value-added processing of by-products has been on the rise and how these products are being used in food supplements and pharmaceuticals. Registration for the conference began in October. Sponsors include Icelandair Cargo, Landsbankinn, Eimskip, HB Grandi, and Icelandic Group. The conference is a must for all commercial fisheries organizations and associated businesses that deal in Icelandic seafood. It is sponsored by TM Insurance and Oddi printing company. For more information on registration and the agenda, please visit: sjavarutvegsradstefnan.is. 5
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ICELAND’S WISE SOLUTION Wise offers software solutions to seafood businesses around the world.
Jón Heiðar Pálsson, director of sales and marketing.
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Wise’s head office in central Reykjavík.
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ise is an Iceland-based Gold Certified Microsoft Partner that has more than 20 years of experience in developing and implementing complex IT solutions for its 500+ global customers. The company provides targeted solutions in programming, consulting and software development for the seafood industry. Wise supports companies in various fields, including fisheries, government, engineering, retail and finance. The company’s software solutions allow businesses to identify trends, set targets, analyze data and see results. For instance, with the Wise Analyzer, businesses can view their stock, process financial information from a number of angles, all done in real-time. Wise Analyzer can be installed with all versions of Dynamics NAV and Dynamics AX. SEAMLESS SOFTWARE WiseFish, the company’s seafood software solutions system, provides a fully integrated enterprise resource planning system that is used by more than 120,000 companies around the world. Combining Dynamics NAV and Office 365 with SQL, users can be sure that they’re using the best database and reporting functions available on the market. Moreover, WiseFish allows companies to keep up to date and invest in a ‘product roadmap’ where clients receive ongoing product upgrades. Wise’s customers are able to run their businesses secure in the knowledge that Wise staffers are working in the background, adding the latest releases smoothly and seamlessly.
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IMPRESSIVE ACCOLADES Wise has amassed a number of recognitions over the years. The company took a seat in the 2016 Microsoft President’s Club, a group of companies representing the top 5 percent of Microsoft partners worldwide. Microsoft Corp. honored its highest-performing Microsoft Dynamics partners for demonstrating exceptional levels of growth while delivering innovative solutions that have helped their customers drive their businesses forward. Furthermore, Wise received the prestigious ‘Strongest in Iceland’ title in 2015. Of the 33,000 companies registered in the Icelandic Company Directory, only 1.9 percent pass the conditions set by Creditinfo in order to receive the award of being one of Iceland’s strongest companies. Jón Heiðar Pálsson, director of sales and marketing, is pleased with the company’s recognitions: “Wise continues to be a leader in the IT field and we were thrilled to win the prestigious awards.” GLOBAL REACH Wise is a global company with offices in Iceland and Norway, as well as partners worldwide. Its customer base is all over the world, supported by individual local Microsoft partners. For more information on Wise products and services and how they could benefit your company, visit the website: wisefish.com
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THE SHIPPING EXPERT
From left: COO of shipping Guðmundur Þór Gunnarsson and sales director Gunnar Kvaran.
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ur service to the fishing industry focuses on transporting, storing and shipping as fresh a product as possible,” says Guðmundur Þór Gunnarsson, COO of Shipping at Samskip. ALL-ROUND FISH TRANSPORT “We transport fish all around the country. A company in Kópavogur may buy fish at the market in Ísafjörður and that’s where our trucking service comes in, transporting fish between regions,” specifies Guðmundur. It takes around five hours to drive from Ísafjörður in the West Fjords, southwards to the capital area, for example, Kópavogur. “The fish usually arrives in 8
the night and is processed the next day.” Guðmundur adds: “We also transport fresh salmon from a fish farm in the West Fjords to destinations around Europe and North America.” Fresh fish destined for foreign markets—mainly the UK and France, but also the Netherlands and Belgium—is shipped by Samskip’s vessels to the closest ports, which takes approximately three days. From there, the seafood is distributed by truck, boat or rail to markets in Europe, or by plane to New York. “We have cold stores in major ports, where we can provide the customers with temporary storage before they send the products to their final destinations,” says Guðmundur. Through Samskip’s partner freight companies, frozen Icelandic fish ends up in destinations as distant as Ghana, Egypt, South Korea and Japan.
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Constantly improving its services for the fishing industry, Samskip transports fresh and frozen seafood between destinations in Iceland, as well as to markets in Europe.
IMPROVING SERVICES “In Iceland, the fishing industry and sales network for seafood products is highly developed,” states Guðmundur. “In 2013 we started sailing around the country on our way to Europe, every other week at first and now on a weekly basis.” Before setting sail for markets in Europe, Samskip’s vessels circle Iceland, stopping at Ísafjörður, Sauðárkrókur, Akureyri, Húsavík, and Reyðarfjörður to pick up seafood products. “This has greatly improved our services to the fishing industry and the fish’s carbon footprint. Now we don’t have to transport it by truck to Reykjavík, which is less expensive for the customer, lessens the strain on the roads and decreases waste.” ICELAND REVIEW
While servicing the Icelandic and Faroe Islands’ fishing industry and import of general products to those markets is important, it’s only 20 percent of Samskip’s operations. Samskip’s biggest operation is within Europe, transporting goods between countries all over the continent, for example, from Italy to Sweden, or from Germany to England. samskip.is 9
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WORLD-CLASS SEAFOOD DISTRIBUTION For over 20 years, Danica Seafood Ltd. has exported Icelandic seafood to customers around the world.
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stablished in 1993 by Jan Thomsen and Laufey Jóhannsdóttir, Danica Seafood Ltd. is a leading fresh fish distributor, headquartered in downtown Reykjavík, exporting Icelandic fish to the US, the UK and mainland Europe. Jan, the company’s managing director, who is originally from Denmark, worked for several years in the Danish fishing industry before moving to Iceland with his Icelandic wife in 1985, and the young couple founded Danica Seafood shortly thereafter. FRESHNESS AND QUALITY Providing the freshest and highest-quality catch to customers from all over the world is a top priority for Danica. “We send daily shipments to the US, to Britain and to mainland Europe,” Jan explains. “We sell
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all kinds of fish, but Icelandic cod and haddock mostly, and our business has been growing steadily over the years.” The company has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council for its sustainable fishing practices. SECRET OF SUCCESS The key to Danica’s success has been the award-winning fish distributor’s strong relationship with its clientele. “A lot of the growth within Danica has been with our initial customers,” Jan says. “We grow along with our customers.” A relatively small operation of ten dedicated employees, many of whom are Jan and Laufey’s relatives, Danica Seafood Ltd. represents some of the best Iceland has to offer in fish distribution. danica.is
The Danica team.
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Cooling of small haddoCk sTored in iCe
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Source: Seafish Scotland
Temperature (°C)
16
When
qualiTy
10 8 6
Flaked ice
4 2 -2
matters!
Pumpable ice
0 0
1
2
3
4
Time: (hours)
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· Super chilling fish for over 16 years
It’s very important to keep fish
· Over 300 vessels use Optime-ICE®
cold throughout processing. You will get a better yield
· Used all over the world
Midhraun 2
210 Gardabaer
Iceland
and a better quality.
Tel. 354 587 1300
[email protected]
www.optimar.is
curio Has manufactured seafood processing macHines since 1994
Heading macHine
sKinning macHine
sHarpening macHine
filleting macHine
HigH tecH, efficient and elegant macHines
for seafood processing
The Curio operation simmers with a passion for craftsmanship, technology and unbound imagination. We bring together the devotion inherent in handmade machinery parts, technical innovation and Icelandic ingenuity – and with
this magical mix we assemble potent seafood processing machines with a strong character and a great performance.
machines themselves and we further emphasize it with superb service and with a full range stock of all spare parts at all times.
We are proud of our machines. This pride is evident in the
curio ehf. - Eyrartröð 4 - 220 Hafnarfjörður - Iceland -tel: (+354) 587 4040 - email:
[email protected] - www.curio.is
www.curio.is
- smart solutions
Wise, founded in 1995, has become one of the largest resellers of Dynamics NAV in Iceland as well as offering a wide range of seafood industry-focused packages, business intelligence solutions and analytical tools for the international markets. Wise solutions combine the best standard Microsoft Dynamics NAV with specialty add-on solutions. Wise is an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) for Microsoft Dynamics NAV and a Microsoft Gold Partner.
wise bi Wise BI gives you enhanced capability to monitor and analyse management information in real time. This business analysis environment is specially designed for working with data and distributing valuable information. Wise Analyzer processes data in real time and can use functionality such as OLAP cubes for multicompany and multidimensional views as well as SSRS reporting package to easily create and view your own reports. Wise BI solutions simplifies decision making, giving managers an improved overview of their operation.
seafood WiseFish is a tailored ERP solution, developed to meet the needs of the seafood industry. WiseFish covers the whole seafood value chain from fishing and aquaculture through production to sales and distribution.
- seafood software solutions
Whether your company is involved at every step of the seafood value chain or specialized in particular steps, WiseFish is suitable for all types and sizes of seafood businesses. WiseFish is a certified Microsoft Dynamics solution and has been sold for over 20 years worldwide.
Wise lausnir ehf. Borgartún 26, 105 Reykjavík » Hafnarstræti 93-95, 600 Akureyri sími: 545 3200 »
[email protected] » wise.is
NAV
