Project description
Optimising the value chain in fish processing
Intense fishing practices are rapidly depleting fish stock, yet restricting harvests would cause increased unemployment and harm the economy of many nations. Better sustainability of fish stock can be achieved by improving efficiency along the value chain (harvesting, processing, wholesale/retail), thus reducing waste. The EU-funded VALKA project has developed a cloud-based consultancy system for fish processing. It intends to validate the system's efficiency and prepare commercial and financial plans for its launch. Based on catch reports from fishing vessels, the system matches available supplies with market demands and recommends optimal courses of action for processing. Maximising the value of harvests not only increases profits but also helps to sustain precious fishing resources.
Objective
Our world’s marine ecosystem is at the brink of collapse because of extensive fishing: 31% of fisheries are overfished and 58% are fished to their capacity. However, the reduction of fish quotas would entail the subsequent loss of job positions and fish industry profitability, leaving many countries within the European borders in a complicated position from a socio-political plane. Thus, to make global fishing sustainable, the industry needs to maximize the value of fish products to allow applying higher restrictions in the fish quotas without a socio-economic impacting.
Valka was founded in 2003 as an Icelandic start-up with the vision of becoming the leading provider of fish processing systems globally. Since then, we have been growing by designing and producing high tech systems for fish processors with the aim to maximize accuracy, increase yields and efficiency through automation in collaboration with the customer. In this regard, FishPro plays a pivotal role in our internationalization process by paving the way for entering new markets though a disruptive value proposition which place us in the technological forefront of the sector. Hence, the multidisciplinary group of experts which constitutes the 80 members of the company have a fully commitment with the present project.
To contribute to fisheries sustainability, we are developing reinforced learning based consultancy software (FishPro) to optimize the value of the whole load and match the raw material with the sales orders. FishPro software provides recommendations for optimal processing of the catch to maximize value. (e.g. market, type of fillets, conditioning). This will ensure optimal matching of the products with the demand, thereby minimizing waste. This manner, we have estimated a 25% improvement with respect the profitability of current automatization procedures.
Fields of science
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesfisheries
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftware
- social sciencessociologyindustrial relationsautomation
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesclassical mechanicsfluid mechanicsfluid dynamics
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencecomputational intelligence
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
200 KOPAVOGUR
Iceland
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.