All Parts of the Cod Have Market Potential

I have read with great interest the series of articles prepared by Mr. Bob Verge, managing director of the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation about the cod fisheries recovery.

I have found that he has painted an instructive portrait of the past of this fishery, of the current situation and of the conclusions to be drawn of mistakes from the past. I have appreciated his sense of synthesis and his description of the new opportunities.

I would like here to add to his reflection the possibility to also develop highly added value products derived from cod and from its process residues.

To illustrate these opportunities, I would like to quote a presentation made by Dr. Thor Sigfusson of The Iceland Ocean Cluster (www.sjaverklasinn.is/en) in a webinar presented by SeafoodSource.com and entitled Waste not: Financial opportunities in Seafood by-products.

Dr. Sigfusson’s presentation showed, among other topics, that certain parts of the cod, that could be considered as residues, such as its liver, its intestine, its bones and its skin, can be transformed into products which have a value, in dollars per pound, much higher than the value of the flesh.

These products are intended for the food, the nutraceutical and the pharmaceutical industries. These added value products lead to increasing the value of each fish taken from the sea.

They can also lead to developing new markets for exportation. But they are also opportunities for the start-up of new companies here in Canada, for the development of new added value products by research centres, and for the design of the equipment required to perform this processing.

I believe that the conference planned by CCFI and announced by Mr. Verge in one of his articles could be a great opportunity to also explore these new avenues.

Pierre Patenaude
President
Oceatec Inc.