Matís and Vinnslustöðin have been working together on the Sjávarsalt project, looking at what can be done with brine — a by-product of equipment that turns seawater into fresh water. The two organisations have been at it since last summer, backed by an innovation grant from the Lóu fund awarded in 2024. Their shared aim is to find more sustainable, forward-thinking approaches to salted fish production.
The project has its roots in an incident from several years back, when the fresh water pipeline serving the Vestmannaeyjar islands was badly damaged. To keep the islands supplied with fresh water, VSV brought in desalination equipment from Hatenboer-water, a Dutch company. The process works — but it produces brine as a by-product, and until now that brine has largely gone to waste.
Reducing Dependence on Imported Salt
Under the Sea Salt project, researchers are testing whether this brine can replace the usual mix of fresh water and imported salt in the first stage of fish processing — the brining step. If the desalination plant’s brine can stand in for both, there’s a real chance of cutting back significantly on imported salt. The research also looks at whether using brine affects the quality of the finished salted fish.
At its heart, the project is about getting more out of available raw materials and reducing waste in fish processing — while also depending less on salt shipped in from abroad. If the trials hold up, it could point toward a new processing model with a lighter environmental footprint. Early results look promising: no negative effects on fish quality have shown up so far, which suggests the process could end up being both greener and cheaper to run.
