Last week, the Iceland Ocean Cluster team got the amazing opportunity to assit at the Iceland Aquaculture and Ocean Forum (IOAF). The topic was about “Scaling Sustainable Aquaculture: From Local Strength to Global Impact”.
We were invited to the pre-forum which was introducing “the blue economy’s growth engine: algae, shellfish and circular value”. Each person presented their companies and the current market for their sector, whether it’s shellfish or algae.
The day started with an introduction to the algae and shellfish sector from the wonderful Siggi Petursson, with the Algae Association of Iceland. The shellfish sector was represented by Júlíus Kristinsson, CEO of Silfurgen, and Vala Valþórsdóttir, CEO of Aurora Abalone.
Then the microalgae part by Ingólfur Bragi Gunnarsson, CEO of Myskopun, and Julie Encausse, CEO of Marea. The macroalgae sector by Anna Þóra Hrólfsdóttir, project manager at Matís, and Ingibjörg Valgeirsdóttir, CEO of Lava Seaweed. Last but not least Fernando Calvo, director at SAMCA, talked about the investing possibilities in Iceland.
Some key fact highlighted during the day were that the global annual production of shellfish represented 17 million tons which is five times larger than salmon farming; or the growth of the microalgae market going from $200 million in 2024 to $350 million in 2032 only for Phycocyanin (blue pigment).
So thank you to IAOF for hosting this event and to everyone working and investing in those sectors. Also we need to remember the central role Iceland plays in this industry, through its geothermal or pure water properties. Iceland has so many opportunities, so thanks to them for contributing to this wonderful icelandic ecosystem!