SYNOPSIS:

"Can we inspire other seafood nations to follow the Icelandic example: creating more value in seafood through innovation and collaboration?"

This is the question Dr. Thor Sigfusson, founder of the Iceland Ocean Cluster tackles in his new book. THE NEW FISH WAVE describes how the Iceland Ocean Cluster has inspired more innovation and entrepreneurship in the global seafood industry by doing more with less to create value from fish byproducts and to build sustainable global fisheries. The world can learn from Iceland, the small fishing nation in the North Atlantic – which has in many ways transformed itself from being one of the poorest countries in the world a century ago to becoming a niche leader in fish and one of the richest nations in the world. Iceland is a nation which has shown pride in its seafood industry and uses new innovation to safeguard the environment, create wealth, derive more value from each fish and manage fisheries in a sustainable way.

The Iceland Ocean Cluster (IOC) began as a research project at the University of Iceland and has become a vital part of the "new“ seafood industry in Iceland where cross-pollination is the key; bringing new knowledge and experience into a traditional nature-based industry. The IOC has become a catalyst of change in the seafood industry in Iceland, and Sigfusson's "The New Fish Wave" describes how a cluster can become an agent of change for a natural industry like the seafood industry. Since the opening of the Iceland Ocean Cluster, sister clusters have opened in Portland, Maine, New Bedford, Massachusetts and Seattle, Washington—all established to drive innovation and collaboration in the marine industry.

THE NEW FISH WAVE describes offers a reader a step-by-step guide for how to ignite dynamic networking of people and ideas to make way for further innovation, product development and value creation.

Available for pre-order on Amazon.com and through your favorite local bookseller.

about the author:

Dr. Thor Sigfusson is an Icelandic entrepreneur, author and speaker. He is globally recognized as an authority in the field of innovation and startups in seafood. He has written six books on topics such business, globalization and fish. Dr. Sigfusson is founder and chairman of Iceland Ocean Cluster and The Ocean Cluster House which have become global models of best practice in creating new seafood ecosystems. The Ocean Cluster network is now expanding globally with the sister clusters established in the US and supporting cluster initiatives around the globe.

PRESS

April 7, 2020
[Reykjavik, Iceland, April 2020]  The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind. Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea… <read more>

- Press release

April, 2020
World Fishing & Aquaculture
Vol. 69, Issue 3

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:

With both the economy and the culture at stake, no one has more reason than Iceland to save cod. And I doubt anyone has fought harder to save it. But now we can long for the days when the answer was just a well managed fishery.  It now seems such a simple solution but, no longer enough. The horrible reality is that the North Atlantic is loosing its ability to feed all its fish. This will particular impact on larger fish such as cod. Climate change means that the ocean is getting warmer and less salty and carrying increased carbon dioxide, which is attracted to oceans . This makes it difficult for shell fish and plankton to grow, which in turn reduces zooplankton and capelin.  There is less and less food for cod so they will become fewer and smaller, no matter how well the fishery is managed,  unless we change our energy, drive different cars and change the way live very soon.  What can little Iceland do about such an international crisis. The one advantage of a small country is that it could become a model country, which would not be enough to save the planet, but it could set the example.

- Mark Kuslansky, author of COD

It goes without saying that not every idea [of the author’s] will come to full fruition, but enough of them will work out to make the change in philosophy worthwhile, and giving the ideas tree a shake will always produce a result. THE NEW FISH WAVE should be essential reading for anyone with an interest in seafood industry's development; its themes and ideas have a relevance beyond fishing and seafood.

- Quentin Bates, Editor, World Fishing & Aquaculture Magazine, April 2020

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