World Fishing catches up with the Icelandic Ocean Cluster

With funding finalised for a new strategic plan that will steer the Iceland Ocean Cluster’s work for the next three to five years, CEO Alexandra Leeper says the organisation is now primed to help make major advances in eliminating the “obscene” 23.8 million tonnes of seafood by-products wasted globally each year. 

World Fishing has been finding out what’s been happening at the IceFish partner organisation and a lot of progress has been made at the Cluster— known locally as Sjávarklasinn. 

Importantly there’s been two new hires to support the companies based at Ocean Cluster House in Reykjavík and to serve the growing wave of start-ups entering the 100% utilisation, zero-waste space. International engagement is also expanding rapidly. 

“It’s important that we’re nurturing our domestic relationships and members, while ensuring there’s a good balance as we grow internationally,” Leeper said. 

One recent milestone is a new agreement with pioneering Icelandic fishery Skinney-Þinganes, which has partnered with the Cluster to advance its 100% fish utilisation. Such companies, Leeper stressed, must sit at the heart of the movement. 

Beyond Iceland, the Cluster has been working with Royal Greenland on its “100% Shrimp” project, aiming to maximise the value of shrimp byproducts for health, pharmaceutical and food applications — a partnership funded by Nordic Innovation that Leeper describes as a blueprint for demonstrating the commercial case for full utilisation. 

“We’re all seeing it more and more: Lots of fish quotas are being reduced, putting the onus – the commercial business focus – on doing more with less,” she said. “There’s always been a strong environmental argument for 100% fish use, but now it’s also a bottom-line conversation.” 

AI and the blue economy 

IOC has also identified a fervent headswing towards the role of artificial intelligence in the blue economy. “AI is, of course, a pretty hot topic everywhere, but particularly in terms of investments and the possibilities it could unlock for the industry, for our members and for Iceland,” Leeper said. “We’ve been looking at where we can have leadership. We are an island nation with lots of energy, a big data centre industry, and the second-fastest internet in the world. There’s also a lot of AI talent here. 

She continued: “From the Iceland Ocean Cluster perspective, we’re always trying to make sure we’re at the core of conversations centred on what’s brilliant and topical in the blue economy. But I believe that for Iceland as a whole, this is an area where it can be a leader.” 

Another major step-change opportunity lies in the build-out of the Iceland Eco Business Park (IEBP) — a large-scale co-working space for green and circular industries and part of the Ocean Cluster ecosystem that was co-founded by Cluster Founder Thor Sigfusson and IEBP CEO Kjartan Eriksson. Newly granted funding has supported a Nordic collaboration project linking clusters across Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, using IEBP as an example of integrating a network of testbeds and innovation ecosystems. 

The goal, Leeper said, is to create a full innovation pipeline where start-ups and SMEs can develop, test and scale new technologies and business models. 

Blue Nova Ventures and global scouting 

Such pipelines connect to Blue Nova Ventures (BNV), the investment fund launched by the Cluster in 2025 to bridge financing gaps for blue-economy start-ups. Alongside ongoing fundraising, the Blue Nova Scout Programme is identifying high-impact innovators worldwide. One recent partnership links BNV with Cascadia in the US Pacific Northwest, tapping into regional strengths in ocean data, marine biotech and sustainable fisheries. 

“It helps us understand who the big changemakers are and acts as a magnet for our sister ocean clusters,” Leeper said. 

The sister cluster network, now 12-strong with the addition of Queensland, Australia, is a central plank of the Cluster’s global strategy. 

With rising demand from countries wanting to form their own clusters or develop 100% utilisation programmes, IOC has secured support from Builders Vision — the impact platform founded by Walmart heir Lukas Walton — to expand its reach and to develop a 100% Fish Playbook. 

This forthcoming playbook will codify global best practice: how zero-waste is achieved, which models work where, and how to build commercially viable utilisation ecosystems. 

“It’s a handbook for leaders of 100% ecosystems so they can have something to work from,” Leeper explained. 

The funding will also support the selection of three to four emerging ecosystem leaders worldwide for a year-long transformational residency in Iceland, ultimately creating a global alumni network of “100% Fish Champions”. 

This network will further benefit from venture development and being integrally connected to BNV. 

“Essentially, it’s about sharing methodology and building a community to a larger scale than we’ve been able to before, and to do that in a more connected and globally-linked way,” Leeper said. 

A global, multi-directional movement 

Leeper emphasised that a dynamic 100% fish movement requires knowledge transfer to flow in multiple directions. 

“This isn’t just about exporting Icelandic knowledge. It’s about multi-directional learning — taking inspiration from first-movers in different ecosystems so we’re not reinventing the wheel,” she said. Several sister clusters are already pursuing business models and revenue streams Iceland hasn’t explored. 

With greater global connectivity, she said, some regions can “soft-land” new initiatives and skip early experimental stages by drawing on proven technologies and methodologies. 

While it’s impossible to predict where the 100% fish movement will be in the next decade, Leeper is clear about the desired trajectory: more established full-utilisation ecosystems, deeper knowledge-sharing networks, and a growing cadre of global champions cutting into the 23.8 million tonnes of aquatic food wasted each year. 

Image shows: CEO Icelandic Ocean Cluster, Alexandra Leeper.