Terraforming LIFE hosted a dedicated seminar at the Lagarlíf (Aqua-ICE) conference in Harpa on October 1st, focusing on how waste from aquaculture and agriculture can be transformed into valuable resources such as organic fertilizer and renewable energy.
Lagarlíf is Iceland’s leading conference on aquaculture and the wider blue economy, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders from across the Nordics and beyond. This year’s event attracted more than 700 participants, underlining its role as a key meeting point for dialogue, innovation, and collaboration in the sector.
The seminar opened with a welcome address from Margrét Ágústa Sigurðardóttir, Managing Director of the Icelandic Farmers Association. She emphasized that land-based aquaculture is part of Icelandic agriculture, sharing the same challenges of sustainability, resource management, and rural development. Margrét highlighted the role of the Association’s new Land-Based Aquaculture Division, established in 2023, as a platform for collaboration, policy influence, and creating practical solutions that benefit both farmers and fish farms.
Sigurður Trausti Karvelsson, R&D Project Manager at First Water and Coordinator of Terraforming LIFE, then presented how the project is building infrastructure to support Iceland’s transition toward circular solutions. He highlighted both the progress already made and the next steps.
From a market perspective, Sveinn Aðalsteinsson, Managing Director of Orkídea, discussed the demand for biofertilizer and the importance of quality assurance. His presentation shed light on how products developed within Terraforming LIFE can meet the expectations of farmers and industry.
Adding an international viewpoint, Ann Cecilie Ursin Hilling, Innovation Manager at NCE Aquaculture in Norway, shared nearly a decade of experience with the collection of aquaculture sludge. She posed the central question: is sludge still an increasing waste problem, or is it finally becoming a resource of value?
“The strong interest in our seminar shows how relevant this issue has become,” said Gyða Pétursdóttir, Project Manager at the Icelandic Farmers Association and the co-ordinator of the seminar. “If the production forecasts of the main land-based salmon farming companies hold true, Iceland could be producing 150 to 200 thousand tonnes of salmon annually within the next 10 to 15 years. This means that the volume of fish sludge will increase significantly, and we must therefore ensure that it is given a sustainable pathway where nutrients are recovered and reused.”
The seminar concluded with a panel discussion featuring Sveinn Aðalsteinsson (Orkídea), Erna Karen Óskarsdóttir (MAST), Karen Mist Kistjánsdóttir (Eimur), and Hallgrímur Steinsson (Laxey, a land-based salmon farm in Vestmannaeyjar). Panelists shared insights on market opportunities, regulatory challenges, energy and resource efficiency, and practical solutions for sustainable waste management. They also discussed the biggest opportunities and risks in transforming fish sludge into valuable products, and the most urgent issues to address for successful handling. We thank all panelists for their valuable contributions and for helping drive the discussion on turning waste into opportunity.
