Innovation Award finalists announced

According to the Chairman of the Board of the Nor-Fishing Foundation, Liv Holmefjord, and Director Ola Eriksen, the jury had a difficult task selecting the three finalists among many well-qualified applicants.

The jury consisted of Jan Birger Jørgensen (Assistant Secretary General of the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association), Oddvar Staulen (Senior Advisor, Innovation Norway), and Kjell Maroni (Head of Research, The Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Fund (FHF)).

The jury selected three finalists:

Mustad Autoline AS with its SeaBird Saver, developed in cooperation with the Dutch company SeaWave. A laser unit keeps birds away from the fishing vessel by using visual laser beams during setting of the line. The equipment saves endangered species from being caught as unwanted bycatch on the line, as the hook and bait follow the line into the sea. As more baited hooks enter the sea, the catch rate is improved, and the environment is better protected.

Marel HF’s new Flexicut machine cuts away side bones in the fish fillet with a minimal loss of fish flesh by using a very thin water jet. This will give a higher yield for the processing industry, better product quality and boneless products by using high precision, automation and flexibility.

Inventas AS has made the conventional 20 kg fish box for frozen fish better, cheaper and more environment friendly, benefitting producer and customer alike, while ensuring a better use of resources. In Norway alone, it is estimated that the new box, with its lower lid and prints on brown cardboard, will save the industry about NOK 15 million per year, and reduce the cardboard wastage by 3000 tonnes.