Hampiðjan received an innovation award at IceFish 2026 yesterday for BioSeize, a solution developed to collect organic waste from aquaculture before it settles on the seabed. The award was presented at a ceremony at Salurinn in Kópavogur in connection with the Icelandic Fisheries and Aquaculture Exhibition – IceFish.
BioSeize received the award in the aquaculture innovation category. The system collects feed residues and other organic material that would otherwise settle beneath sea cages. The solution can therefore help reduce the accumulation of organic matter below fish farming sites while also creating opportunities to make use of the collected material.
BioSeize is part of ELDI’s range of aquaculture solutions and is being presented at IceFish alongside several other new developments. These include MarWall, a semi-closed fish farming system supplied with oxygen-enriched seawater pumped from considerable depth, and MarDeep, a submersible fish farming system.
Nathan Breeze, ELDI´s CSO, receives the award from Rúnar Magni Guðmundsson of Arion Bank.
The system is based on a specialised collection net, ConeCollect, which is installed beneath the cage and directs organic material towards the Fish/It collection unit. The aim is to remove the material from the water efficiently and with as little seawater and salt content as possible, making it easier to process and potentially utilise further.
BioSeize has already been put into pilot operation at Lerøy Sjøtroll’s fish farming site at Blom in Norway. Lerøy is one of the world’s largest salmon farming companies, producing more than 200,000 tonnes of farmed fish annually. The BioSeize system has performed extremely well and well beyond expectations, with considerably more material being collected than initially anticipated.
IceFish 2026 is taking place at Smárinn/Fífan in Kópavogur from 22–24.
The Hampiðjan stand at IceFish. A model of the BioSeize system can be seen in the foreground.
