At a time when US environmental groups are encouraging regulators to shut down cod fishing in New England entirely, the codfish industry in Iceland is enjoying something of a boom. Although its landings are a fraction of years past, export income from Icelandic cod continues to rise.

How do they do it? Turns out that, when it comes to cod, Iceland is all-in. Only 25 percent of the cod’s export value is derived from the sale of fresh and frozen fillets. The real money now comes from “increased raw material utilization, according to the Icelandic Ocean Cluster, a business incubator in Reykjavik focused on fostering innovation in ocean-related industries.

The materials in question cod heads, livers, skin and intestines are as about as raw as it gets but they are nothing to sniff at, and the numbers bear that out. In 1981, the Icelandic cod fishery produced 460,000 tons, worth $340 million. In 2011, only 180,000 tons came ashore but these “holistic” fish swelled the cod coffers to $680 million that year.

“Our mission is to show that you can do more with less, said IOC president Thor Sigfusson, who comes to New Bedford this week to share his ideas at a presentation at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Whaling Museum. “We have seen cuts in whitefish catches all around the North Atlantic, Sigfusson said in a recent phone call. “But Iceland has shown that you can create more value if you look at opportunities to create new kinds of products.

According to the IOC, Iceland has now achieved almost 95 percent utilization of each cod caught. In addition to extracting cod liver oil, and using the roe for caviar, a range of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals are now manufactured using the skin and the fish’s intestinal enzymes as ingredients. Collagen, for example, is one well-known product derived from the skin.

As in New Bedford, fishing has traditionally played a vital role in the local economy, according to Sigfusson, so fears about declining catches and falling revenues drove the search for alternatives. “Iceland does not have that many natural resources so we cannot afford to treat them lightly, Sigfusson said.

Most of the innovative products coming out of Iceland were developed as a result of collaboration between researchers and the fishing industry. In the past that type of partnership was not always the case. It was while studying for his PhD at the University of Iceland that Sigfusson noticed that a gap existed between these two groups and so the idea for the Icelandic Ocean Cluster emerged. The IOC now has more than 60 companies as full members according to its website. It helps that Icelanders take great pride in the fishing industry and its development, Sigfusson said, and this serves to attract young people to the industry who bring their enthusiasm, ideas and expertise into areas such as chemistry, biotechnology and marketing.

City officials here say there are interesting parallels between the challenges facing the groundfish industry in both countries.

“Over the decades, entrepreneurs in our fishing industry have shown that they are experts at innovation and problem solving,” said Ed Anthes-Washburn, New Bedford’s Deputy Port Director. He has been maintaining close contact with US embassy officials in Reykjavik to promote the visit among the many waterfront businesses here. “The city and the Harbor Development Commission are excited to participate in any dialogue that could create new and marketable products for our fish harvesting and processing companies.”

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