OUR SPEAKERS
SJÓKOVIN 5TH YEAR CELEBRATION AND CONFERENCE ON FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE
Dr. Alexandra Leeper, CEO of the Iceland Ocean Cluster
Presentation: 100% Fish - The road from concept to market and profitability
Dr. Alexandra Leeper is the CEO of the Iceland Ocean Cluster. She is passionate about leadership for the sustainable use of ocean resources. Alexandra has a background in marine resources and completed an industrial doctorate in aquaculture and circular economy in 2021 in collaboration with Matís, Food and Biotech Iceland and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. Her work focuses on sustainable value creation, positive impact on the blue economy and supporting the development of ocean clusters around the world. She is committed to promoting the visibility and connection of women in the startup sector and is herself a co-founder of Hringvarmi, an agri-tech startup that utilises waste heat for controlled environment food production.
At the conference, Alexandra presented the concept, 100% Fish, describing the path from the creation of new products out of sea resources and challenges to go from an idea to the market and profitability.
Dr. Ólafur Ögmundarsson, Associate Professor at Háskóli Íslands
Presentation: Assessing environmental impacts of fisheries and aquaculture? Examples from Iceland
Dr. Ólafur Ögmundarson is an Associate Professor at the University of Iceland and Vice-Faculty Dean of the Faculty of Food Science and Nutrition. He chairs the Board of Teaching at the School of Health Sciences and sits on the Sustainability board of the University of Iceland. Ólafur main research focus is on interdisciplinary research assessing the environmental and economic sustainability of foods and diets with specific emphasis on food systems and food security. This focus is also reflected in his student supervision and teaching, where the main topics are life cycle assessments, food systems and food production, and the United Nations Sustainability Goals
At the conference, Ólafur explained how life cycle assessments are used to evaluate the environmental impacts of products and how emissions and other negative environmental impacts in the fishing and aquaculture industries can be reduced.
Jónas R. Viðarsson, Director of the Research Department, Matís
Presentation: How does Matís support innovation and value creation in the seafood industry?
Jónas R. Viðarsson is the head of the food and biotechnology research division at Matís. He is an expert in circular economy and food value chains and has been working at Matís since 2007. He has extensive experience in international projects as a coordinator and work package leader and has worked extensively on studies concerning the environmental impact of the fishing industry at sea and on land, environmental labelling, and life cycle assessments.
At the conference, Jónas presented how Matís supports innovation and value creation in the marine resources industries. He also talked about the interaction between research and development at Matís and innovation within industrial companies.
Dr. Petter Olsen, Senior Researcher, Nofima
Presentation: Food fraud and traceability: Should seafood traceability systems be based on blockchain technology?
Petter Olsen works as a senior researcher at Nofima. He holds a Ph.D. in traceability from UiT – The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, where he also serves as an adjunct professor. Petter is an expert in the use of ICT in the food industry, particularly in information logistics, product documentation, environmental assessments, and traceability. He has extensive experience in European projects, both as a coordinator and work package leader.
At the conference, Petter presented concepts on food fraud and traceability and discussed to what extent blockchain technology can improve traceability systems for seafood.
Prof. Michaela Aschan, UiT
Presentation: The Changing Arctic: A Transdisciplinary Research School for a new generation of researchers
Prof. Michaela Achan is a professor of fisheries science and fisheries management at UiT – The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, and holds a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Helsinki. She is Vice Dean at the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, where she is responsible for developing the university’s scientific strategy. She is also in charge of the Ph.D. program at UiT. Michaela has strong leadership skills and extensive experience in interdisciplinary research. She was the coordinator of the Horizon project ClimeFish, which focused on how climate change may affect the fisheries and aquaculture industries in Europe.
At the conference, Michaela presented the new Ph.D. school at UiT – Changing Arctic – and described how the program aims to create a new generation of researchers capable of working across disciplines to find solutions to the challenges in the Arctic.
Dr. Unn Laksá, CEO of Sjókovin / Blue Resource
Presentation: The Annual Report on Fisheries in the Faroe Islands in 2024
In 2020, Dr. Unn Laksá took the initiative to establish Sjókovin, where she now serves as director. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Liverpool. Since 2013, she has worked on both international and Faroese research projects in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors—as a work package leader and coordinator. Unn has been extensively involved in interdisciplinary collaborations and has broad knowledge of the fishing and aquaculture industries. She has participated as an expert in several working groups, both in Faroese and international contexts.
At the conference, Unn will present the achievements and future plans of Sjókovin. She will also present Sjókovin’s 2024 Annual Report on the fisheries sector. In addition, she will share results from the SeaMark and SmartFisk projects, which focus respectively on seaweed farming and how oil consumption in the Faroese fishing fleet can be reduced.
Dr. Magni Laksáfoss, Economist, Sjókovin / Blue Resource
Presentation: How can we reduce fuel consumption in Faroese fisheries?
Magni holds a Ph.D. in economics from Roskilde University and has worked at Sjókovin since its founding in 2020. He is a specialist in statistics and demography. Magni has conducted extensive research on the Faroese economy and has significant experience in carrying out socio-economic analyses in European, Nordic, and Faroese research projects.
At the conference, Magni presented the results from the SmartFisk project, which focuses respectively on how oil consumption in the Faroese fishing fleet can be reduced.
Prof. Sveinn Agnarsson, Háskóli Íslands
Presentation: Opportunities and challenges in using alternative proteins in food and feed production
Sveinn is an affiliated researcher at Sjókovin and a professor of economics at the University of Iceland. He is particularly strong in industrial economics and econometrics, and his research primarily focuses on fisheries management. He has published more than 40 articles in international journals and participated in numerous international projects on fisheries and aquaculture. In addition to being the chairman of the Icelandic Competition Authority, he recently took part in the Icelandic expert group that provided recommendations on how to reduce CO₂ emissions in the fisheries sector.
At the conference, Sveinn presented the results from the research project NextGenProteins, where he served as work package leader. The project aimed to explore the possibilities of using alternative proteins for food and feed production.
Juliana Arias Hansen, Researcher, Sjókovin
Presentation: Solutions to restoring and protecting ecosystems and biodiversity
Juliana holds an MA in International Economics and Development from the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin – HTW. She is skilled in market research and financial and economic analysis. Juliana has extensive experience as a work package leader in European Horizon research projects related to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors, including FarFish, Aquavitae, and BioProtect.
At the conference, Juliana will present the BioProtect project, which aims to develop solutions to protect marine biodiversity.
Mirjam Carlsdóttir Olsen, Researcher, Sjókovin
Presentation: Perspectives on Pelagic Fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic
Mirjam holds a degree in International Development from the University of Edinburgh and an MA in Social Science from the University of the Faroe Islands. She has been working at Sjókovin since 2023, where she has been involved in various EU projects.
At the conference, Mirjam will present results from the Horizon project Marine SABRES, which aims to make it easier to adopt a more holistic, ecosystem-based approach to ocean governance—taking into account the interaction between the environment and society. She will also share perspectives from Faroese stakeholders on pelagic fisheries in the North Atlantic.