Aningaaq Heilmann, a process technician, is responsible for the dayto-day operation of the cod liver plant. The cod liver, which was previously discarded, is now being used to produce the finest cod liver oil which will be sold for human consumption. “The actual process of producing cod liver oil starts by finely chopping the raw cod livers, which are heated to approx. 90° C and run through a decanting process to remove any solid remnants of cod liver. Then the liver is centrifuged, after which the pure oil is separated and cooled down before being pumped to a storage tank,” explains Soren Sondergaard, project manager at Royal Greenland. He has been involved in planning and designing the liver plant, as well as testing and trialling it in Denmark before shipment to Maniitsoq. “Our aim is to produce as much oil as possible, so that all customers who show an interest in the oil can be given proper samples from the actual production line. We have run a few trials in Denmark with frozen cod liver. Now we’re using fresh liver, which has not been frozen, so this is the oil quality that customers can expect to get,” explains Sten Sørensen. Liver oil of outstanding quality Next season, the factory in Maniitsoq will produce liver oil alongside its cod production. “When gutting the fish, we place the entrails on a conveyor belt, and it is from here that we collect the livers without interfering with our normal cod production. The commissioning of the liver oil plant means that four additional employees will be taken on – two who will be sorting the livers at the conveyor belt, and two who will be operating the actual cod liver oil plant,” says Susanne Marie Olsen, factory manager in Maniitsoq. The end of the cod season will be used as a testing period, during which the production process will be stabilised. Initially, the oil will be sold as animal feed, and then a proper production will start when the cod season resumes in April, depending on the weather. “The raw materials for the liver oil produced in Maniitsoq come from the cod which is landed live at the factory and then killed when production starts; this means that we are able to produce cod liver oil of outstanding quality. We’re therefore hoping that we’ll be able to find business partners who we can work with to re- fine the oil for human consumption,” says Lars Nielsen, group production director. Production of the now popular Nutaaq Cod in Maniitsoq is based on supplies of live Atlantic cod from Atammik in the south to Kangaatsiaq in the north. “It has been a huge success, and we’ve learned a lot, both the fishermen up there and we have learned that it is possible to sail such a distance. Next year, we’re hoping to be able to collect live cod from along the length of the west coast, so that cod supplies are not limited in any way,” says Sten Sørensen. At the moment, Royal Greenland has permission to fish live cod for a one-year period, but is working on getting a multi-year permit. Text: Káte Hansen, kaha@royalgreenland.com Photos: Inga Egede and RG Maniitsoq NAVIGATIO NO. 2 2018 5
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