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Frozen seafood - processing and markets

Quick frozen seafood products have for a number of years constituted about 50% of the value of seafood exports from Iceland. Quick freezing is still unrivalled as a method for preserving raw material quality and there are continuous improvements in processing technology. The freezing industry is therefore likely to maintain a strong position.

Land based freezing plants are situated around most of the Icelandic coast but increasingly the catch is also frozen on board the fishing vessels. Both sectors have their advantages for the market. Land based factories are versatile and able to produce a wide variety of modern consumer products whereas the freezer trawlers can claim the ultimate in product freshness.

Today's freezer trawlers are large, modern and well equipped for highly automated processing and their success is evident in their large share of catch disposition. Modern-day freezing on board started in the early 1980s. In 1986 less than 5,000 tonnes catch weight of groundfish were processed this way but in 2005 about 125,000 tonnes of groundfish were processed and frozen on board. This was close to 26% of the groundfish catch. Similarly, just under half of the flatfish catch  (13,000 tonnes) was frozen at sea.. In 2005, close to 200,000 tonnes of pelagic fish, chiefly herring, were also frozen at sea. There are currently 61 freezer vessels holding processing permits in the Icelandic fleet. They are specialised for either groundfish processing or they are large multipurpose vessels, geared for both the pelagic and the groundfish fisheries.

Most land based factories are also modern and technically well equipped. In recent years there have been many mergers of land based freezing plants and this has led to many of the older plants being made redundant. There are currently about 120 freezing plants holding processing permit. The plants are supplied by fishing vessels ranging from large wetfish trawlers to small boats fishing with handline.

Shrimp processing

Fillet production
After gutting and washing the fish is iced and kept in chilled store at sea and on shore to preserve raw material quality. In the freezing process the fish is first washed, headed and machine filleted. The fillets are trimmed, portioned, graded for size and packed according to specifications before being quick frozen. Fish is processed immediately after gutting on board freezer trawlers.

By-products
In land based processing offcuts and trimmings are minced and blockfrozen. Heads are dried and the skin and skeleton with muscle remnants is processed into fishmeal. In frozen at sea processing, the heads, trimmings and offcuts are often frozen for further processing on land. 

H/G production
For whole freezing (especially redfish and Greenland halibut) the fish is headed and gutted (H/G), sorted by size and quick frozen at sea. Heads or part of the heads have a limited market but are mostly discarded.

Whole fish production
This applies mainly to land based freezing of small fish, such as capelin and to some extent also herring. The fish is washed, size graded, quick frozen and packed.

Shrimp processing
In land based processing, shrimp is washed, cooked briefly, machine peeled, inspected and cleaned further. After brief brining the shrimp is individually quick frozen, glazed with cold potable water for protection, graded for size and packed. In frozen at sea production, the whole shrimp is size graded and quick frozen on board the fishing vessels. Some frozen at sea shrimp is reprocessed by land based factories. A by-product of the industry is mainly the shell which is reduced to meal and also more recently used as a raw material for chitosan, a valuable product for the food and cosmetic industry.

Markets
Markets for frozen products are in North America, Europe and the Far East, especially Japan. Whole-frozen and H/G products are especially popular in Japan and Taiwan while the fillet markets are in Europe and North America. The largest shrimp market is in the UK, while nephrops products are sold mostly in southern Europe.

The pie chart shows the proportional export value for frozen groundfish products in 2005, according to the main markets.