Following the success of the I Arion Bank & IAOF Conference on the future of the Icelandic aquaculture industry held last year (pictured), the second edition will be held June 4-6, in Reykjavik.
Photo: IAOF / Markó Partners.
Next week, from June 4-6, Reykjavik will host 'The Future of the Ocean and Aquaculture in Iceland & Capital Markets Day'. This is the second edition of the conference organized by the Iceland Aquaculture & Ocean Forum (IAOF) with the support of Arion Bank which brings together all industry stakeholders in the country.
As a new addition to the investor program presented in 2023, there will be another day under the theme 'Ocean Horizon Day' this year. Dedicated to exploring the pressing issues and innovative solutions in the ocean and aquaculture sectors, the symposium will feature, among other guests, the UN special envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson.
Just over a year ago, WeAreAquaculture reported that ten Icelandic aquaculture companies had created a new industry association to support sustainable aquaculture in the country. Based in Reykjavik, IAOF had actually been born a few months earlier but came forward at the end of May to announce what would be its first public step: the conference 'The Future of the Ocean and Aquaculture in Iceland' that it was to hold together with Arion Bank on June 1-2, 2023.
There, representatives of Icelandic aquaculture companies met not only with local authorities and institutions but also with foreign experts and investors, as well as representatives of the three major feed companies. Árni M. Mathiesen, IAOF board member, senior advisor to the Iceland Ocean Cluster, and former Icelandic Minister of Fisheries, told us about its success shortly afterward.
"What was interesting about the conference was the general positiveness around farming in Iceland today," he said. "And that is, of course, in addition to the feelings or the business acumen of many other people taking part in it." It was intended to be a forum for debate and succeeded, so the first Arion Bank and IAOF Conference closed its sessions already looking forward to the next edition, which will come next week.
In this second edition, which, as mentioned, will be held from Tuesday, June 4 to Thursday, June 6, the event grows and adds a third day - it will be a previous one, in fact - in which, before talking about investments and the macro outlook of the aquaculture farming business in Iceland, they will be discussed the challenges and opportunities related to the production of seafood in relation to the increasing demand for protein on a global scale.
'Ocean Horizon Day' will be held on June 4th. In this open symposium, the keynote speaker will be Peter Thomson, UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, who will talk on 'The importance of the Ocean'. He will be followed by other speakers ranging from the Special Envoy for Ocean Affairs at Iceland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stefán Jón Hafstein, to the CEO of Arnarlax, Bjørn Hembre, as well as researchers, scientists, university members, etc.
The day will close with a Panel Discussion with Q&A moderated by Árni M. Mathiesen who, in addition to the positions mentioned above, is also a member of the Board of the Global Seafood Alliance and Independent Chair in the Global Roundtable on Marine Ingredients. Former Minister Mathiesen was also Assistant Director-General, Head of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department at the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) for 10 years.
The investor program will occupy the following two days, June 5th-6th. For the second consecutive year, the event will be attended by the Icelandic Prime Minister, Bjarni Benediktsson, who will once again kick off the conference.
Following the opening, Alf-Helge Aarsko, Senior Industry Consultant and Former CEO of MOWI Norway - or "the industry Captain," as IAOF Chair, Kjartan Olafsson, refers to him in a LinkedIn post - will give the talk 'Salmon Industry Outlook to 2030 - Opportunities and Challenges', in which he will speak about sea and land-based fish farming in Iceland.
Afterward, Hjalti Már Hauksson, Senior Vice President in Corporate Finances at Arion Bank - the Icelandic bank co-organizer of the event and whose headquarters in Reykjavik hosts the Conference - will give a presentation on 'Outlook and Perspectives for Iceland's Aquaculture Industry to 2030'. A Q&A session, again moderated by Árni M. Mathiesen, will close the first block of this first day.
In the second part, representatives of the Norwegian Kontali - seafood analysis and insights provider -, and INAQ - provider of advisory services to seafood companies and related businesses -, will discuss the global market outlook of the salmon industry. The day will then close with the views of key players and service providers in the salmon value chain, including genetics - Benchmark Genetics -, feed - Skretting -, salmon farming - Bakkafrost -, and processing and distribution - New England Seafood International -.
Both the second and third days of the IAOF Conference are by invitation only. The goal, Árni M. Mathiesen told us last year, is for operators, their key suppliers, and current and potential investors to have "a better in-depth and more open discussion" than they might otherwise have.
Thus, the last day, the so-called 'Capital Markets and Investor Day', will feature Helga Sigurrós Valgeirsdóttir, Head of SMEs and Insurance at Arion Bank, as session chair throughout the day, and will offer attendees views from industry innovators, views from leading seafood investors, and also a corporate finance session.
On the innovators' side, CEOs of Salmon Evolution, Trond Håkon Schaug-Pettersen, and Andfjord Salmon, Martin Rasmussen, will join Thomas Voght-Eriksen, Global Aquaculture Director at DNV Norway, and Kira Smiley, who will present Tidal, Google, 'Impact of AI on future aquaculture farming operations'. On the investors’ side, Odd Group Director of EW Group Magne Rodseth, Stodir CEO Jón Sigurðusson, S2G Ventures Managing Director Larsen Mettler, Kverva Investment Director Magnus Dybvad, Aqua-Spark CEO Lissy Smit, and Ísfélag Chair Einar Sigurðusson, will participate in the panel discussion.
Finally, the corporate finance session will be attended by representatives from Arnarlax, Kaldvík (Ice Fish Farm), and Arctic Fish on behalf of Icelandic ocean aquaculture companies, and Samherji Fiskeldi, Matorka, Laxey, GeoSalmo, First Water, and Thor Landeldi, on behalf of land-based salmonid producers and project developers in Iceland. For those interested, you can view the full conference program here.