Proximity to fishing grounds and market areas
The Westman Islands are one of the biggest fishing stations in Iceland, and close to them are
bountiful fishing grounds. The islands are also
extremely well positioned for foreign markets
on both sides of the Atlantic. A large part of
the catch processed in Iceland by Vinnslustödin
(VSV) is caught in the vicinity of the Westman
Islands, which is also the last port of call for
cargo ships en route from Iceland to ports in
Continental Europe and the northern edge of
Europe.
VSV’s proximity to fishing grounds and markets
increases buyers’ chances of getting fresher
products. Fish sent by sea from the Westman
Islands to Europe can be one day fresher than if
it were shipped from other ports in Iceland.
VSV is one of Iceland’s biggest fisheries companies with large fishing operations, fish processing,
sales and marketing; in other words, it handles all
aspects of its production, from fishing to markets/
consumers.
VSV was founded in 1946; it manages a total
of 10 ships and runs production operations for
salt fish, lobster, ground fish and pelagic fish, a
fishmeal factory, freezer storage, a net workshop
and a sales and marketing division.
VSV owns and operates sales and marketing division under the name About Fish Island, About
Fish Germany, About Fish Portugal, About Fish
Nederland, About Fish France and Anyfish in
Russia. Also VSV owns in cooperations a value
added Seafood production called Marholmar.
VSV has formulated a policy and set goals for
environmental affairs and caretaking of marine
resources, including the full utilisation of landed
raw material (see p. 14).
1
France
France
2
About Fish Iceland ehf.
VSV’s sales and
marketing
division
Hafnargata 2
900 Vestmannaeyjar
Iceland
Office phone: +354 488 8000
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: +354 488 8001
Website: www.vsv.is
MSC-C-54353
VSV runs the sales and marketing companies
About fish Iceland, About Fish GmbH, About Fish
Portugal, About Fish Nederland and Anyfish in
Russia, with the aim of promoting and selling
fresh, frozen and salted seafood products on our
market areas.
All of the fish these companies sell is caught
in the north Atlantic, and most of these seafood products are manufactured by VSV and its
subsidiary companies.
About Fish GmbH
An der Reitbahn 3
Hittfeld Seevetal
Germany
Sales manager í Hittfeld Seevetal:
Office phone: +494 105 155 9260
E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected],
Website: www. aboutfish.de
About fish Iceland was established in 2003,
About fish Deutschland in 2005 and Anyfish was
set up in 2013. Nederlands and Portugal was
established in the year 2015.
These companies all have a solid base of knowledgeable and experienced people behind them,
all with a long background in Icelandic fisheries
and marketing going back several decades.
These sale sand marketing operations are all
backed by VSV, one of the largest and most
active fisheries companies in Iceland.
VSV operates eight fishing vessels and also has
processing facilities for pelagic and demersal
species, as well as langoustine production, a
fishmeal and fish oil production plant and refrigerated cold storage facilities.
The rationale behind these joint marketing
operations is to maintain close co-operation with
our key customers to be able to react promptly
to each customers requirements as they change.
The VSV sales and marketing companies welcome new customers, with the aim of building
long-term relationships that are beneficial to all
parties.
Marhólmar ehf.
Lyngás 11
210 Garðabær
Iceland
Office phone: +354 898-1610
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.vsv.is
Marhólmar OY
Vaskipolku 3
Mäntsälä, 04600
Finland
Office phone: +358 40 844 8090
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.vsv.is
MSC-C-51576
About Fish Portugal
Rua António Alegria, 170, 2º andar, sala 1
3720-234 Oliveira de Azeméis
Portugal
MSC-C-54352
Office phone: +351 256 068 570
e-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.vsv.is
About Fish B.V.
Burgemeester Haspelslaan 55
1181 NB, Amstelveen, The Netherlands
Mob.: +31 (0) 6 2189 9120
E-mail: [email protected]
Anyfish
About Fish France
183038
Str. Vorovskogo,
5/23, Office 217,
Murmansk
Russia
22 Rue d´Alsace - 62200
Boulogne Sur-Mer
France
Tel.: +33 (0) 391 18 4777
Mob.: +33 (0) 640 66 0346
E-mail: [email protected]
Office phone/fax: +7 8152 288 696
E-mail: [email protected] • [email protected]
[email protected] • [email protected]
Website: www.vsv.is
3
Cod
At one time Icelanders were more dependent than any other country in
the world on cod. Even today cod is the most important commercial fishing
stock for Icelandic fisheries and the national economy as an export
product, especially fresh, salted or frozen.
Cod is a ground fish that is most commonly found at a depth of 100-250 m on
Icelandic fishing grounds. Cod, which grows to maturity off the south and west
coast, generally stays there its entire life, while cod maturing off North Iceland
generally seeks the warmer waters off South Iceland for spawning. Cod spawns
in March-May off the south coast but in April-May in the West Fjords and off
North Iceland.
MSC-C-52912
Cod – Gadus morhua
Cod fisheries within Iceland’s fisheries jurisdiction have been certified in
accordance with the most stringent international requirements (by Global Trust
Certification Ltd. – GTcer.com – in accordance with the requirements of FAO).
The cod catch can fluctuate from year to year because of various conditions in
the ocean’s biosphere and because of variation in the fishing effort. For a time
the cod stock off Iceland was in danger of being overfished, and then a fisheries
management system was enacted to limit fisheries. The cod stock is now growing and becoming stronger again. The fisheries management system has also
made it possible to integrate fishing, processing and marketing efforts to meet
consumers’ demands for good fish the year round and enable the fisheries sector
to pay for the economic demands made on it by society.
• Sources: Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson,Fjölvaútgáfa/1983; Fish and fisheries by Bent J. Muus and Preben
Dahlström, Almenna bókafélagið 1968; and others
• Product list - p. 16
VSV’s fishing grounds
• Fishing period for cod
J F M A M J J A S O N D
4
VSV’s fishing grounds
• Fishing period for saithe
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Saithe
Saithe is found in the sea all around Iceland, although mostly in the south and
southwest. It is an important commercial fish for Icelanders. In many places,
saithe is considered very good food, for example, in Germany and Scandinavia.
VSV’s ships fish for saithe during the entire year. It is sold fresh or frozen in
Europe and salted in South America.
MSC-C-52912
Saithe, part of the cod family, is a pelagic fish that can in fact also be deemed
a ground fish. It is the first of the cod family to spawn off Iceland, from the
latter part of January through March, at a depth of 100-200 m, especially on
the Selvogur and Eldey Banks. Saithe is a wide-ranging species. For example,
saithe marked off Norway has been caught off Iceland and the Faroe Islands,
and saithe marked off Iceland has been caught off Norway, the Faroe Islands,
Scotland and in the North Sea.
• Sources: Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson, Fjölvaútgáfa/1983; Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson and Jónbjörn Pálsson,
Vaka-Helgafell/2006; Fish and fisheries by Bent J. Muus and Preben Dahlström, Almenna bókafélagið 1968; and others.
Saithe – Pollachius virens
• Product list - p. 16
5
Redfish
MSC-C-52912
*Only applies to Golden Redfish
Redfish is one of Iceland’s most important commercial fish species. VSV’s ships
catch it the entire year. Redfish is sold fresh, frozen or filleted or frozen at sea,
headed and gutted.
Fresh and frozen redfish is sold especially in Germany and France, while frozen
redfish is also sold in Asia, America and other places.
Many species of redfish are known, and three of them are especially found off
Iceland: golden redfish, deep-sea rosefish and small redfish. Redfish in everyday
language usually means golden redfish.
Golden redfish – Sebastes marinus*
Redfish has living offspring, which is rare amongst teleosts. Its main spawning
locations are southwest of Iceland and off the west coast of Norway. It is also
characteristic of redfish to be very slow growing, and it is believed not to reach
sexual maturity before the age of 16-18.
Golden redfish are found in the ocean all around Iceland, but particularly off
the southeast, south and west coasts. Deep-sea rosefish is found in much the
same areas as golden redfish but is nevertheless rarely found off the coasts
of North and Northeast Iceland. The main fishing areas for deep-sea rosefish
include off the coast of Southeast Iceland and just south of the Westman Islands.
Deep–sea redfish – Sebastes mentella
Icelanders did not really start fishing for redfish until toward the end of the 1930s.
They would later go on to catch redfish also off Greenland and Newfoundland.
• Sources: Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson, Fjölvaútgáfa/1983; Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson and Jónbjörn
Pálsson, Pálsson,Vaka-Helgafell/2006; Fish and fisheries by Bent J. Muus and Preben Dahlström, Almenna bókafélagið
1968; and others.
• Product list - p. 16
VSV’s fishing grounds
• Fishing period for redfish
J F M A M J J A S O N D
6
VSV’s fishing grounds
• Fishing period for haddock
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Haddock
Icelanders have long talked about haddock as the „pot fish“, meaning that it is
fresh food to boil for a meal. Haddock therefore held and still securely holds its
place as the nation’s favourite fish to eat.
MSC-C-52912
VSV’s ships mainly fish for haddock from early in the year until fall. Haddock is
gutted and sold whole and fresh in markets in Europe and is also processed or
sold to fish processors in Iceland.
Haddock is found all around Iceland. It is a shallow-sea and ground fish that
keeps mostly to clay and sandy bottoms.
Haddock reaches sexual maturity when it is 3-4 years old and spawns in AprilMay. It is usually 45-60 cm long.
Haddock – Melanogrammus aeglefinus
• Sources: Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson, Fjölvaútgáfa/1983; Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson and Jónbjörn Pálsson,
Vaka-Helgafell/2006; Fish and fisheries by Bent J. Muus and Preben Dahlström, Almenna bókafélagið 1968; and others.
• Product list - p. 16
7
Capelin and roe
Capelin has been one of Icelanders’ most important commercial fishing stocks
since the 1960s. Previously it was mainly used as bait as well as feed for
animals in some parts of the country, but more attention was paid to it
after herring disappeared from Icelandic fishing grounds in 1968. Around the
mid-1960s people began harvesting capelin roe and freezing capelin whole for
human consumption. VSV sells whole-frozen capelin, both male and female, as
well as capelin roe.
Capelin – Mallotus villosus
Male and female
Icelandic capelin is one of four capelin stocks in the North Atlantic and
Barent Sea. It is a pelagic fish but retreats to shallower waters for spawning,
particularly off the coasts of South and West Iceland, from Hornafjördur to
Breidafjördur. It otherwise keeps to the open ocean in search of food, ranging
from north of Jan Mayen to the coast off East Greenland.
It is thought that capelin reaches the age of four at most, spawns only once and
then dies. It spawns from February to April in southern areas, but from April to
May in northern areas.
• Sources: Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson, Fjölvaútgáfa/1983; Fish and fisheries by Bent J. Muus and Preben
Dahlström, Almenna bókafélagið 1968; and others
• Product list - p. 17
VSV’s fishing grounds
• Fishing period for capelin
J F M A M J J A S O N D
8
VSV’s fishing grounds
• Fishing period for mackerel
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Mackerel
Mackerel was considered a migratory fish on Iceland’s fishing grounds in the
20th century when it was occasionally caught, and small schools of this streamlined fish were sometimes known to approach the country. Warming of the
sea greatly increased mackerel migration into the fishing grounds off Iceland,
and it can be said that around the start of the 21st century were the first
actual „mackerel years“ in Icelandic fisheries. VSV sells mackerel whole-frozen
and headed and gutted.
Mackerel – Scomber scombrus
Ship owners in the Westman Islands were pioneers in Iceland in fishing and
processing mackerel, among other things, by freezing it for human consumption
aboard their ships. The former „stray“ fish has therefore become an important
commercial fish for Icelanders, a considerable additional source of business for
ship owners, fish processing and the national economy.
Mackerel is widespread on Icelandic fishing grounds. Mackerel spawns in the
period May to July, and after spawning it migrates in shoals to Iceland, looking
for food, and is generally found in late summer and early fall (June-September).
• Sources: Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson, Fjölvaútgáfa/1983; Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson and Jónbjörn Pálsson, Vaka-Helgafell/2006; Fish and fisheries by Bent J. Muus and Preben Dahlström,
• Product list - p. 17
9
Herring
Three separate herring stocks have been found on Icelandic fishing grounds,
i.e. spring spawning herring and summer spawning herring, which spawn off
Iceland in July, and Norwegian spring spawning herring (sometimes called the
Norwegian-Icelandic herring stock), which spawns off the West coast of Norway
in the period February-April. Years ago the Norwegian herring went searching
for food in the area between Iceland and Jan Mayen, came to Iceland in shoals
as summer approached, returned to Norway in the winter and was in its spawning locations there in spring. VSV sells herring whole, filleted or split.
MSC-C-52912
Icelanders increased their catch from the Icelandic herring stocks after 1955,
especially spring spawning herring, and fished from the Norwegian-Icelandic
stock after 1960. All of these fishing stocks collapsed, mainly because of overfishing, but decreasing sea temperature and lack of food also played their part.
Herring – Clupea harengus
Icelandic summer spawning herring bounced back and became an important
commercial stock for Icelanders. Norwegian spring spawning herring off Norway also recovered, and part of the stock then began migrating. In 1988-1989
fishermen began noticing the Norwegian herring along its old routes southeast of Jan Mayen and between Norway and Iceland. The herring has not yet
resumed its previous migratory route in the North Atlantic, but much of its
behaviour is very familiar. Thus, the Norwegian herring entered Icelandic jurisdiction in 1998 for the first time in 30 years.
At the start of 2007, a multinational agreement was reached on utilisation of
the Norwegian spring spawning stock, and Icelanders now fish from the stock in
accordance with the agreement of 2010 with Norway.
• Sources: Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson, Fjölvaútgáfa/1983; Icelandic fish by Gunnar Jónsson and Jónbjörn Pálsson,
Vaka-Helgafell/2006; Fish and fisheries by Bent J. Muus and Preben Dahlström, Almenna bókafélagið 1968; and others.
• Product list - p. 17
VSV’s fishing grounds
• Fishing period for herring
J F M A M J J A S O N D J
Norwegian-Icelandic herring stock
10
Icelandic summer spawning herring
VSV’s fishing grounds
• Fishing period for scampi
J F M A M J J Á S O N D
Scampi (Langoustine)
Scampi is the most valuable seafood product exported from Iceland Scampi,
which is the only scampi species found off Iceland, is caught almost exclusively
with scampi trawl nets. Trap fishing was also used for a time, but it proved not
to be efficient enough. VSV has experimented with trap fishing for the purpose
of making it more efficient.
Scampi catching and processing is a relatively new branch of the Icelandic
fisheries industry. The first official catch reports for scampi are from 1958, but
Icelanders’ first attempts at scampi fisheries began in 1939 off the Westman
Islands.
Scampi is found in warm seas off the southern coast, from Lónsdýpi out from
Hornafjördur in East Iceland and westwards along the coast. Icelandic scampi
is usually bigger than scampi of the same type found elsewhere in the North
Scampi (Langoustine) Nephrops norvegicus
Atlantic, and Icelandic scampi is likewise unique in that it spawns every other
year. Under governmental rules scampi fisheries are allowed from mid-March to
the end of November. One of the main fishing areas is off the Westman Islands,
and closeness to the fishing grounds makes it possible for VSV to keep the raw
material as fresh as possible from catching to processing.
Scampi is sold for export whole-frozen or tails frozen in the shell. VSV’s buyers
of whole scampi are mainly in Southern Europe. The great majority of VSV’s
scampi catches is in the biggest size categories and therefore fits in well withSpanish tastes. VSV sells scampi tails to North America.
• Main reference: Fishing and Markets for Norway Lobster (Veiðar og markaðir leturhumars) by Haraldur Bergvinsson,
final project at the University of Akureyri, 2008, etc.
• Product list - p. 19
11
Marhólmar
Marhólmar is a subsidiary of VSV and specialises in the production, sales and
marketing of value added seafood products from fish caught in the pristine
waters around the Westman Islands.
The main products are Masago, made from VSV´s high quality Capelin roe,
high quality sugar-salted and marinated Cod roe paste and various top quality
herring products for retailers and the HoReCa markets.
At Marhólmar we take pride in delivering high quality products under strict
quality systems and efficient, constant product development. We offer our clients
products for their own brands as well as through our own brand, Vestmans.
The Marhólmar operation is located in Westman Islands, only a few metres
from the harbour where fishing vessels frequently bring fresh raw material for
our production. The harbour is also a port of call for the main shipping liners
where they load our products several times a week and transport to our valuable
clients on both sides on the Atlantic.
12
MSC-C-54352
13
Fishmeal, energy and
the environment
VSV’s fishmeal factory is efficient and technically modern. Since 2002 the operations’ excess energy has been utilised to heat VSV’s buildings, and in 2003 the
factory was connected with the Westman Islands’ hot water utility as an “energy
plant”. At peak operations VSV can supply the hot water utility’s distribution
system with enough energy to heat half of the Westman Islands’ residential
housing. The technical equipment making this possible also helped halve oil
consumption in operations. Greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere from
fishmeal processing likewise decreased, i.e., emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2)
and sulphur dioxide (SO2).
Vinnslustödin produces two types of fishmeal:
• NSM-meal (NorSeaMink) - High quality fishmeal
• Fish meal standard
VSV likewise produces three types of fish oil. The raw material for
fishmeal and fish oil production is mainly the part of herring, capelin,
mackerel and blue whiting that is not utilised for human consumption.
Fishmeal is also made from the by-products of VSV’s fish processing:
spines, fish skin and innards.
Fishmeal is rich in protein and is especially used, along with the fish oil,
in the production of feed for fish farming. The buyers are mainly fish
farming companies in Norway, but fish in fish pens in various European
states, including Iceland, are also fed fishmeal and fish oil from VSV.
Fish oil is also used in the leather industry.
14
Environment
and marine resources
Among other things, VSV has declared the following goals for its operations:
• Treat and utilise the ocean’s resources with respect and sensible fishing effort
• Promote sustainability of marine resources
• Utilise all landed raw materials
• Heads and bones are sold for drying.
• All fish parings are utilised.
• Seawater used in processing is filtered to separate out anhydrides,
and pure seawater is pumped back into the ocean.
Examples of projects VSV has organised in accordance with its goals for
environmental and resource affairs:
• Research on the fishing and behaviour of lobster for the purpose of investigating
the impact of fisheries on the sea bottom, habitat and stock size and increasing the
profitability of lobster fisheries. Collaborative project of the University of Iceland
and VSV 2007-2011.
• Utilisation since 2003 of excess energy from VSV’s fishmeal factory to heat its own
company’s buildings and up to half of residential housing in the Westman Islands.
In this way oil consumption of the operations decreased by half, and greenhouse
gas emissions into the atmosphere were reduced.
15
VSV’s seafood products - Ground fish
Fish products that VSV produces or can produce from cod,
saithe, redfish and haddock
• Fresh loins, fillets, tails and portions
• IQF and plate-frozen products
• Lightly salted fillets
• Wetsalted splitted fish
• Wetsalted faces
• Wetsalted migas
• Fresh gutted fish
IQF stands for Individually Quick Frozen
16
VSV’s seafood products - Pelagic fish
Fish products produced by VSV from capelin, mackerel
herring and blue whiting
• Capelin products
• Frozen whole for markets in Japan and East Europe
• Frozen roe at various stages of maturity
• Mackerel products
• Frozen whole
• Frozen, H&G
• Herring products
• Frozen, whole, fillets and flaps
• Blue whiting products
• Frozen whole
• Frozen whole H&G
H&G stands for Headed and Gutted
VSV
operates
its
own
specialised
ships,
production
and
sales
office:
VSV
therefore
controls
the
value chain of its products from fishing grounds to the delivery of goods. HACCP ensures the security,
quality and healthfulness of food from the company. VSV sees to the sale of its products, and therefore no middlemen
come between VSV and its customers.
17
VSV’s seafood products
- Various species of ground fish
Four species of ground fish are generally processed in VSV’s fish
processing plant: redfish, cod, saithe and haddock. Other ground
fish landed in Iceland are processed, sold on the domestic market,
exported iced in containers to foreign markets or sold directly to
customers. This includes the following species:
• Blue ling - Molva dypterygia
• Catfish - Anarhichas lupus
• Spotted catfish - Anarhichas minor
• Tusk - Brosme brosme
• Whiting - Merlangius merlangus
• Witch flounder - Glyptocephalus cynoglossus
• Dab - Limanda limanda
• Plaice - Pleuronectes platessa
• Rough dab - Hippoglossoides platessoides limandoides
• Lemon sole - Microstomus kitt
• Ling - Molva molva
• Monkfish - Lophius piscatorius
18
VSV’s seafood products
- Scampi (Langoustine)
• Scampi products
• Frozen whole
• Frozen tails
• Frozen heads and claws
VSV
operates
its
own
specialised
ships,
production
and
sales
office:
VSV
therefore
controls
the
value chain of its products from fishing grounds to the delivery of goods. HACCP ensures the security,
quality and healthfulness of food from the company. VSV sees to the sale of its products, and therefore no middlemen
come between VSV and its customers.
19
20