Tímarit Verkfræðingafélags Íslands - 01.12.1967, Blaðsíða 203

TlMARIT VPl 1967
201
framleiðendur og ættum því að sérhæfa okkur
í próteíniðnaði, en leggjum of lítið af mörkum
til rannsóknarstarfa. Hinn háþróaði efnaiðnaður
ýmissa þjóða leggur fram nokkra hundraðshluta
veltu sinnar til rannsókna. Útflutningsverðmæti
síldarverksmiðjanna voru á síðasta ári um 2 millj-
arðar íslenzkra króna eða um 50 milljón dollarar.
Einn hundraðshluti þeirrar upphæðar er meira fé
en nokkur íslenzk rannsóknastofnun hefir látið
sig dreyma um. Þótt peningar teljist afl þeirra
hluta, sem gera skal, þá er það fyrst og síðast
dugmikið sérmenntað fólk, sem framkvæmir verk-
ið, og í okkar samfélagi mun okkur fremur skorta
fólk en fé.
Summary
The present paper is concerned with the chief
stages of development in the production of fish
meal and fish body oil during the current cen-
tury, and in Iceland in particular. The first fish
meal reduction plants were erected there by Nor-
wegians in 1910, but the industry was not
strengthened in any measure until after 1930
when the Icelandic State built its first herring
reduction plant at Siglufjord. Table 12 shows
the development of factory construction in Ice-
land. The chief stage of development was achie-
ved during the first years following upon World
War n when the factories and facilities were
vastly extended both on the North and South
coast, but until that time this industry had
been practically solely limited to the North coast
of Iceland. The 1950—1960 decade is marked by
stagnation in the herring industry, but growing
production of white fish meal and redfish meal,
particularly so from the fish offal coming from
the quick-freezing plants which were greatly
increased during the decade under reference. Just
after 1960 great changes were wrought in this
industry. The busiest stations shifted from the
North to the East coast and the herring catch
was multiplied in the course of a few years
through new fishing technique and a more tho-
rough knowledge of the habits of the herring.
During 1965 and 1966 the herring catch was 4—5
times larger than the average annual catch in
any 5-year period prior to 1960 (table 9). In 1965
Iceland ranked lOth among the fishery nations
of the world with a catch of about 1.200.000 tons,
and 2nd after the Norwegians in herring catch
in the North Atlantic with 763.000 tons out of
a total of 4.050.000 tons. As a producer of fish
meal Iceland ranked 7th during that year (table
6) with a production of 174.000 tons for the year,
representing about 5% of the world production
of fish meal (table 5), and 3rd among the pro-
ducers of fish body oil with 122.000 tons, being
some 17% of the world production for that
year (table 8). The high proportional figure for
Iceland in the case of fish body oil production
is due to the fact that the herring, being the
chief raw material, is very fat in the Icelandic
grounds (fig. 10 and 11). Off the North and
East coast it gives about 15—20% of oil, but
8—15% off the South and West coast. The Peru-
vian anchovy and South African sardine, on the
other hand, give only 4—6% oil. In Iceland
during 1965 about 60% of the catch of fish went
direct to the fish meal and fish body oil produc-
tion. The total quantity of raw material used
in this industry, offal included, may be esti-
mated to have been about 850.000 tons per year
during the past couple of years.
At present there are 44 herring reduction
plants around the coast and these have a capa-
city of about 15.000 tons per 24 hours. The en-
tire production of meal and oil goes to foreign
markets with the exeption of 3.000—5.000 tons
of herring and redfish meal used annually by
Icelandic farmers as a fodder additive. All the
meal is used for fodder mixtures for poultry and
pigs, but most of the oil goes to hydrogenation
as raw material for margarine and frying-fat.
During 1936—1940 the export value of this
production amounted to 20—30% of the total
value of exported sea produce. This industry
was similarly placed in export trade during 1947
—1948, but this proportion is thereafter not
achieved until 1962, while after that year the
part played by this industry in the export of
sea produce has continued to grow and amoun-
ted to just over 38% during last year. Herring
meal (including capehn meal) did first then
take the lead in export over the frozen fish,
and the value of the produce of herring re-
duction amounted to kr. 2.000.000.000, but that
of all fish meal and fish body oils to kr. 2.200.000.
000, being the equivalent of $50.000.000.
The same methods as those practiced else-
where are being employed in the production of
fish meal and fish body oil in Iceland, i. e. direct
drying and grinding of lean raw material (fat
content less than 3%) and reduction of fat raw
material. In the fat fish reduction the raw mate-
rial is boiled in indirect cookers and pressed in
twin-screw presses. The fish-broth is now being
utilized in all plants and is either dried with the
press-cake or first distilled in special evaporators