Iceland Fish & Ships

Iceland is all about fish and ships. Iceland´s history cannot be told without mentioning fish and ships – fish have been a dependable source of nutrition in a country with harsh conditions and fishing an integral part of life in Iceland for centuries. We are confident in saying that Iceland is the Silicon Valley of whitefish. The claim is justified by observing the abundance of entrepreneurship, cooperation and specialization that has led to a unique competitive advantage of the Icelandic fisheries sector.

The Iceland Fish & Ships project is developed to promote the range of services and products offered in the Icelandic marine sector. The purpose is to explain the success of the Icelandic fishing industry and spread awareness that Iceland has everything when it comes to fishing. The Icelandic Ocean Cluster offers assistance and guidance in finding the right channels in the sector.

Fishing Ship of Tomorrow

Fishing Ship of Tomorrow refers to knowledge and technology that Icelandic companies offer in relation to building, designing, equipping and handling fishing ships. Dozens of Icelandic companies provide these services both for the local industry and in the international market. Among them are naval engineering firms, software developers, makers of safety equipment, shipbuilders, companies making cooling solutions, firms providing environmental solutions and complete lines for seafood processing on ships.

An interesting development in this field is how many companies are now developing green technology. Icelandic companies offer environmentally sound solution and technology that contributes to greater utilization of the catch. Promoting this is the focus of the Fishing Ship of Tomorrow. Icelandic ship designers, naval engineers and processing tech companies have worked closely with domestic fisheries on developing new exceptional designing of fishing vessels. Fuel and energy efficiency and new propeller design are other examples.

A substantial part of the export of Iceland comes from companies providing technology for ships and fish processing. Among the products that Icelandic companies offer for ships and are sold worldwide are processing and cooling lines, electric trawl winches, controllable trawl doors and communication equipment.

Seafood Processing Technology

In Seafood Processing Technology the emphasis is on the broad line of products and solutions companies from Iceland offer for seafood processing such as fish processing lines, equipment for drying, cooling and packing. This is a field where Icelandic companies are quite established and a few are industry leaders. A significant part of the turnover of these companies comes from their business with foreign customers. Domestic fisheries have also played a part in the recent strong growth of these companies by investing in new fishing and processing equipment.

Many Icelandic companies export these kind of services and products. They provide complete processing lines, fish drying equipment, canning machinery, cooling technology, packaging goods, pallets and tubs. Recently growth in companies selling processing lines and cooling technology has been especially strong.

Companies in processing technology are of diverse sizes, everywhere from giants on a global scale to self-employed entrepreneurs. Most of these companies stress the importance of research and development, innovation and cooperating with other firms in the sector. Their varied products and services and extensive cooperation mean that they have capacity to take on large scale projects for customers worldwide.

100% Fish

100% Fish presents the range of products made out of fish in Iceland. Seafood, supplements, medical products and design are made out of fish and fish parts. Included in these products is the traditional business of providing seafood but a lot of innovation is happening in Iceland with regards to how fish is utilized and new products are being made from this development.

The thought behind 100% Fish is to display how great a part of the catch is utilized in Iceland and how little is wasted. This is possible because of improved processing and handling and through research and development with regards to providing new products out of parts previously considered waste. Dried heads and bones of fish are a prime example of this. Tons of these products are now made and exported each year out of materials previously wasted. Icelandic companies develop supplements, proteins, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and other high-value products from different parts of the fish.
For more information about the 100% Fish project, please visit our page 100% Fish.

Sectors