Marel has hosted its Whitefish ShowHow in Copenhagen for the fourth
consecutive year, giving more than 150 guests from 26 countries a first-hand
experience of how advances in processing technology can boost their results,
using demonstrations, lectures, and virtual and augmented reality experiences.

INNOVATION, DIGITALIZATION AND THE VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE
In the morning session, guest speakers Dag Sletmo, Senior Vice President and
Seafood Analyst at Norway's leading financial group DNB, and Pétur Hafsteinn
Pálsson, CEO of Icelandic fish company Vísir hf, emphasized the accelerating
impact of digitalization on fish processing.

Dag Sletmo drew on the experience of the Norwegian fishing industry which is
already putting sensors aboard fishing vessels in order to, for example, better
understand the dynamics of the fish stocks and better manage resources. “They
have the dream of putting sensors on all Norwegian fishing vessels,” Sletmo said,
“which would have a huge economic impact.”

Pétur Pálsson talked about the opportunities being created by digital solutions in
the industry, commenting that “The seafood industry is at a bigger crossroad than
we’ve ever seen.” One reason for this is that the time it takes to process fish is
now much shorter than in the past. “You have the equipment to finish production in
10 minutes – producing all kinds of product,” he said.

Pálsson also said that market demands are driving a lot of the new innovations,
and that the value of knowledge has increased. “You can now see the type, size,
and species of fish caught before it’s landed, which helps plan processing,” he
explained. Knowing what’s coming into the factory two days before it reaches the
factory not only makes it easier to fill orders and fully utilize the raw material, it
also helps make wild fish processing more competitive with the farmed fish
industry.

As for social responsibility, Pálsson said the technological advances are not only
helping people to keep their jobs, they’re also keeping those jobs in the fishing
villages, and improving the types of jobs required in the industry.

Vísir has been at the technological forefront of the Icelandic fishing industry for a
long time, and now has a twenty-year database of information to draw on. This
helps them know how to get a certain balance of species and ratio of sizes at any
given time of year, while also being important for traceability.

Summing up he said, “The better the information you have, the better the decision
you make.”

Sigurdur Ólason, EVP Marel Fish, emphasized how Marel sees its role amid all
the technological changes. “We see ourselves as a strategic partner – with the
processing knowledge, the equipment, Innova software – and it’s our role, in
partnership with you, our customers, to fully realize the benefits of digitalization.”