Innovation in the Nordic marine sector

The aim of this report is to examine innovation instruments and systems that are available in the Nordic Marine Sector; to consider the strength and weakness of the Nordic countries, and to suggest how to enhance innovation and competitiveness of the marine industries through Nordic cooperation. The marine sector in this context is broadly defined, encompassing both primary producers in aquaculture and fisheries, processing industry and support industry delivering technology and services. Innovation is also broadly defined; covering both radical and incremental innovations, commercial, technological, and organisational innovations

Assessing the impact of policy changes in the Icelandic cod fishery using a hybrid simulation model

Most of the Icelandic cod is caught in bottom trawlers or longliners. These two fishing methods are fundamentally different and have different economic, environmental, and even social effects. In this paper we present a hybrid-simulation framework to assess the impact of changing the ratio between cod quota allocated to vessels with longlines and vessels with bottom trawls. It makes use of conventional bioeconomic models and discrete event modelling and provides a framework for simulating life cycle assessment (LCA) for a cod fishery. The model consists of two submodels, a system dynamics model describing the biological aspect of the fishery and a discrete event model for fishing activities. The model was run multiple times for different quota allocation scenarios and results are presented where different scenarios are presented in the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. The optimal allocation strategy depends on weighing the three different factors. The results were encouraging first-steps towards a useful modelling method but the study would benefit greatly from better data on fishing activities

Traceability system in cod fishing

The objective of this research was to examine how various factors in Icelandic cod fishing can influence the quality of the raw material, using traceability systems to link these factors, and how transfer that knowledge and techniques to the Brazilian seafood industry. Data were collected in 2007 and analysed, to find a functional relationship between various quality factors. The analysis, showed, that there is a correlation between the number of parasites in the fillets and location of the fishing ground. It also showed that fishing ground and volume in haul can influence gaping, and that fillet yield differs between fishing grounds. These conclusions could only be drawn because of the ability to trace the fish from catch and all the way through processing. Recommendations drawn from this research to the Brazilian Competent Authority are to revise the countries fisheries legislation in order to enable the implementation of a traceability system that could be used as a tool to improve the quality of the raw material. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Assessing the Impact of Policy Changes in the Icelandic Cod Fishery Using a Hybrid Simulation Model

Most of the Icelandic cod is caught in bottom trawlers or longliners. These two fishing methods are fundamentally different and have different economic, environmental, and even social effects. In this paper we present a hybrid-simulation framework to assess the impact of changing the ratio between cod quota allocated to vessels with longlines and vessels with bottom trawls. It makes use of conventional bioeconomic models and discrete event modelling and provides a framework for simulating life cycle assessment (LCA) for a cod fishery. The model consists of two submodels, a system dynamics model describing the biological aspect of the fishery and a discrete event model for fishing activities. The model was run multiple times for different quota allocation scenarios and results are presented where different scenarios are presented in the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. The optimal allocation strategy depends on weighing the three different factors. The results were encouraging first-steps towards a useful modelling method but the study would benefit greatly from better data on fishing activities

EPCIS standard used for improved traceability in the redfish value chain

The application of the EPCIS standard for food traceability purposes was tested in this project. The approach used is based on identification of states and events in food production and mapping these events to the EPCIS standard. During this pilot, one day catch of redfish was followed throughout the HB Grandi premises, from catch to packaged items ready to depart. The catch was tracked by use of RFID and EPCIS software developed in this project. The EPCIS-based traceability system performed well in this pilot and opens up new possibilities for improved internal traceability presentation to other stakeholders in the value chain

IFSAT - Integrating Food Safety and Traceability

This project set out to integrate food safety and traceability by finding common features in the two systems that could benefit each other. Achieved synergetic effects were to be documented by integrating food safety and traceability in the management systems. Systems and standards for chain traceability are now possible to put into operation in the Nordic food industry, with the consequence that a lot of previously unavailable functionality now becomes possible. Chain traceability enables food safety by providing access to data elements that are relevant for risk analysis, relevant for identification of contamination source, and necessary for targeted recall. The challenge in the near future is to integrate food safety aspects and traceability in an operational way