Aquaculture in Iceland continues to move. Now, ten Icelandic aquaculture companies have come together to create a new industry association with the primary goal of supporting sustainable aquaculture in the country. Based in Reykjavik, the Iceland Aquaculture & Oceans Forum (IAOF) aims to "participate in the work of creating new meeting places for ocean-related and land-based aquaculture farming themes and the global aquaculture industry".
The first step will be the conference 'The Future of the Ocean and Aquaculture in Iceland' the platform will organize together with Arion Bank on June 1 and 2.
"IAOF aims to become a platform for international cooperation and dissemination of knowledge about marine aquaculture, both at sea and on land, challenges related to climate change and exploitation, and other features of fundamental importance for the sustainable development of the marine aquaculture sector in Iceland". This is how the new non-profit Iceland aquaculture industry association launched these days by ten aquaculture companies in the country presents itself.
ArticFish, Arnarlax, GeoSalmon, Landeldi, Marsh, Matorka, Samherji, Ice Fish Farm, Icelandic Land Farmed Salmon, and Benchmark Genetic Iceland are the ten founding companies of the IAOF. Through the expertise, knowledge, and networks of its members, the Iceland Aquaculture & Oceans Forum seeks to establish partnerships that will help to understand and find solutions to the challenges facing the sector. To this end, they will seek collaboration with all types of organizations, from leading international institutions to research institutions, NGOs, universities, associations, clusters, companies, or any other interested parties within and outside Iceland.
They will also have the support and expertise of the members of its Board of Directors. With Kjartan Olafsson as Chairman -he is also Chairman of Arnarlax-, the new organization also has Jón Kjartan Jónsson -Director of fish farming in Samherji- as Vice-Chairman, and Helga Sigurrós Valgeirsdóttir -Arion Bank-, Jorgen J. Lund -founder of North Atlantic Seafood Forum-, and Árni M. Mathiesen – Senior Advisor at Iceland Ocean Cluster and former Minister of Fisheries in Iceland, among others positions- as board members of the IAOF.
The Iceland Aquaculture & Oceans Forum also aims to create new meeting places for land-based and ocean-related aquaculture issues and the global aquaculture industry. To this end, it will organize not only annual meetings, but also other cooperative meetings with institutions or media "to enhance understanding of the marine aquaculture at sea and land industry; as well as exchange knowledge related to the industry".
The first step in the generation of knowledge and awareness about the aquaculture industry will be taken on June 1-2, when the conference 'The Future of the Ocean and Aquaculture in Iceland' will be held in Reykjavík. There, together with Icelandic bank Arion Bank, the IAOF will review with the authorities and the main institutions of the country the current aquaculture panorama based, above all, on the report of the Boston Consulting Group about the state and future of aquaculture in Iceland recently released by the Icelandic government.
Including debates such as 'Where should we go? A view from our leaders', 'The environment and the people: the big picture in Iceland' or 'Iceland and the world', the roundtable will try to generate knowledge about the Icelandic aquaculture industry both at sea and on land, not only from a local point of view but also – as it is done in the Boston Consulting Group report – putting it in context with the industry worldwide. You can see the full program here.
The Iceland Aquaculture & Oceans Forum (IAOF) is a new non-profit Iceland aquaculture industry association based in Reykjavík. At its launch, IAOF aims to become not only a platform for international cooperation and knowledge dissemination on marine aquaculture, both at sea and on land, but also to address challenges related to climate change and exploitation, as well as other aspects of importance for the sustainable development of the marine aquaculture sector in Iceland.
