Íslandsbleikja is the largest producer of Arctic Charr in the world. Production plants are situated at Vatnsleysa and Staður in Reykjanes, Öxnalækur in Ölfus as well as an advanced production and packing plant in Grindavík in the south west of Iceland. Production capacity is 3.000 tons and volume for production on land is 50.000 cubic meters.
Managing Director - Mr. Jon Kjartan Jonsson, e-mail addr.here
Iceland Arctic Charr production
Iceland Arctic Charr roes are purchased from one of the two suppliers of Iceland Arctic Charr roes. Both suppliers have years of experience and have a well established breeding program.The roes are then hatched using high- quality, fresh geothermal water, pumped directly from the ground at Nupar, Olfus in the south of Iceland. The facility of Islandslax at Nupar is specially designed to grow Iceland Arctic Charr from the roe stage until they reach the size of approximately 70-100g and the production capacity is around 3 million juveniles per year.
After their stay in Nupar, the juveniles are transferred to one of three land-based on-growing farms. Two of them belong to Islandsbleikja and are located on the southwest coast of Iceland, while the third, Silfurstjarnan, is located on the northeast coast. At all three locations the Charr is farmed under the best available conditions in high-quality brackish water that is pumped directly from drill holes located within the farming locations. The water from the drill holes has been naturally filtered in ages through the Icelandic lava. The combined production capacity of the three farms is approximately 3000 tons of Iceland Arctic Charr per year.
At all locations, both hatchery and on-growing locations, environmental factors such as oxygen levels, salinity, density and temperature are constantly monitored and adjusted to best fit the optimal living conditions of the Iceland Arctic Charr at its current stage of life. Feeding is automatic and is closely monitored, even from distance using an advanced camera surveillance system. Our feeding methods are specially adapted to the eating habits of Iceland Arctic Charr based on our extensive experience in Iceland Arctic Charr farming.
From the time when feeding starts, until the fish reaches harvest size, feed from Laxá Feed Mill Ltd. Iceland is the only feed that is used in our production. The fish meal and fish oil that is used in the production of Laxá feed come from sustainable managed fish stocks in the waters around Iceland. Marine protein is 55% of the total protein in the feed and fish oil is the only oil source in the feed. No other protein sources from the animal kingdom are used and no drugs are added to the feed. The use of Astacantine and Cantancanting pigments are closely monitored and practiced according to EU regulations.The Laxá Feed mill is owned by SVN, the oil and meal plant that supplies the Feed Mill with raw material for their products. Samherji owns half the stock in SVN and several trawlers equipped for pelagic fishing and thus contributes to a large portion of the raw material used in the oil and meal production. Approved vaccines are used strategically as a part of the company’s biosecurity plan. Chemotherapeutic treatments are used in rare instances and under the supervision of the Veterinary Officer for Fish Diseases. The Veterinary Officer certifies that no drug remains are present in the fish at the time of harvest. When the fish has reached harvest size, it is purged in brackish water for a minimum of 7 days prior to harvest to ensure purity of flavour and firm texture. The Iceland Arctic Charr is then transported alive to our specialized processing plant, located in Grindavik on the southwest coast of Iceland, using a specially equipped tank car. During transport, the oxygen level of the water is controlled and closely monitored. Upon arrival the fish is pumped into a tub within the production plant where it remains alive until slaughtering. To ensure the welfare of the fish, the tub is supplied with fresh water. In order to reduce stress and improve flesh quality and shelf life, the fish is transported to a tub containing ice water prior to blooding. The cold water works in an anaesthetic manner without causing considerable stress. After that, the gill arches of the Iceland Arctic Charr are cut on one side and the fish is bled for 15-30 minutes in cold water. The fish is then cooled properly prior to gutting and filleting. During the whole slaughtering process, the welfare of the fish is our main priority. All methods that we use during the process are approved by the Icelandic government and at the same time focused on preventing discomfort and distress and at the same time ensuring the quality of our finished products.
In 2007 the processing plant moved to new facilities and much has been invested in human recourses and equipment that allows for the production of high quality fresh and frozen fillets, portions, and whole fish that meet the strongest requirements of the market. These new facilities offer many possibilities for the development of new products in cooperation with our many costumers worldwide. The new processing plant is equipped with the state of the art technology and is one of a kind since the whole process is developed in cooperation with our employees which have years of experience in Iceland Arctic Charr processing.
Managing Director - Mr. Jon Kjartan Jonsson, e-mail addr.here
Iceland Arctic Charr production
Iceland Arctic Charr roes are purchased from one of the two suppliers of Iceland Arctic Charr roes. Both suppliers have years of experience and have a well established breeding program.The roes are then hatched using high- quality, fresh geothermal water, pumped directly from the ground at Nupar, Olfus in the south of Iceland. The facility of Islandslax at Nupar is specially designed to grow Iceland Arctic Charr from the roe stage until they reach the size of approximately 70-100g and the production capacity is around 3 million juveniles per year.
After their stay in Nupar, the juveniles are transferred to one of three land-based on-growing farms. Two of them belong to Islandsbleikja and are located on the southwest coast of Iceland, while the third, Silfurstjarnan, is located on the northeast coast. At all three locations the Charr is farmed under the best available conditions in high-quality brackish water that is pumped directly from drill holes located within the farming locations. The water from the drill holes has been naturally filtered in ages through the Icelandic lava. The combined production capacity of the three farms is approximately 3000 tons of Iceland Arctic Charr per year.
At all locations, both hatchery and on-growing locations, environmental factors such as oxygen levels, salinity, density and temperature are constantly monitored and adjusted to best fit the optimal living conditions of the Iceland Arctic Charr at its current stage of life. Feeding is automatic and is closely monitored, even from distance using an advanced camera surveillance system. Our feeding methods are specially adapted to the eating habits of Iceland Arctic Charr based on our extensive experience in Iceland Arctic Charr farming.
From the time when feeding starts, until the fish reaches harvest size, feed from Laxá Feed Mill Ltd. Iceland is the only feed that is used in our production. The fish meal and fish oil that is used in the production of Laxá feed come from sustainable managed fish stocks in the waters around Iceland. Marine protein is 55% of the total protein in the feed and fish oil is the only oil source in the feed. No other protein sources from the animal kingdom are used and no drugs are added to the feed. The use of Astacantine and Cantancanting pigments are closely monitored and practiced according to EU regulations.The Laxá Feed mill is owned by SVN, the oil and meal plant that supplies the Feed Mill with raw material for their products. Samherji owns half the stock in SVN and several trawlers equipped for pelagic fishing and thus contributes to a large portion of the raw material used in the oil and meal production. Approved vaccines are used strategically as a part of the company’s biosecurity plan. Chemotherapeutic treatments are used in rare instances and under the supervision of the Veterinary Officer for Fish Diseases. The Veterinary Officer certifies that no drug remains are present in the fish at the time of harvest. When the fish has reached harvest size, it is purged in brackish water for a minimum of 7 days prior to harvest to ensure purity of flavour and firm texture. The Iceland Arctic Charr is then transported alive to our specialized processing plant, located in Grindavik on the southwest coast of Iceland, using a specially equipped tank car. During transport, the oxygen level of the water is controlled and closely monitored. Upon arrival the fish is pumped into a tub within the production plant where it remains alive until slaughtering. To ensure the welfare of the fish, the tub is supplied with fresh water. In order to reduce stress and improve flesh quality and shelf life, the fish is transported to a tub containing ice water prior to blooding. The cold water works in an anaesthetic manner without causing considerable stress. After that, the gill arches of the Iceland Arctic Charr are cut on one side and the fish is bled for 15-30 minutes in cold water. The fish is then cooled properly prior to gutting and filleting. During the whole slaughtering process, the welfare of the fish is our main priority. All methods that we use during the process are approved by the Icelandic government and at the same time focused on preventing discomfort and distress and at the same time ensuring the quality of our finished products.
In 2007 the processing plant moved to new facilities and much has been invested in human recourses and equipment that allows for the production of high quality fresh and frozen fillets, portions, and whole fish that meet the strongest requirements of the market. These new facilities offer many possibilities for the development of new products in cooperation with our many costumers worldwide. The new processing plant is equipped with the state of the art technology and is one of a kind since the whole process is developed in cooperation with our employees which have years of experience in Iceland Arctic Charr processing.
All our products are sold through Ice Fresh Seafood, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samherji. Ice Fresh Seafood was founded on solid foundation and possesses great knowledge and contacts in markets all over the world.