This week, Danish Ocean Cluster attended the Scottish Skipper Expo in Aberdeen – an important meeting point for fisheries technology and maritime solutions in the North Atlantic.
The expo led to many valuable conversations with relevant stakeholders from across the industry and provided a great opportunity to showcase our members and the innovative solutions being developed in Denmark.
We also had a great dialogue with Scottish Ocean Cluster as well as several exciting exhibitors and industry representatives during the event.
Last week, Malthe took part in Fisheries Stakeholder Day at DTU Aqua in Hirtshals as part of the master’s course Sustainability of Fish Capture Methods.
He represented Danish Ocean Cluster and gave a presentation on:
Who Danish Ocean Cluster is
Our perspective on the development of sustainable fisheries
How we work to create value from by-products and side streams in the fishing industry
The day brought together stakeholders from across the entire value chain – from production and fisheries to research – and concluded with a joint discussion on what the future of fisheries looks like and how we can get there.
It is always valuable to contribute to the dialogue between industry, research, and students – and especially to gain insights from students on future solutions.
Last week, Danish Ocean Cluster had the pleasure of contributing a guest lecture for bioeconomy students at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, School of Economics and Business.
Thank you for the invitation – and for creating a space characterized by curiosity, sharp questions, and students who genuinely want to understand the complexity of the circular transition.
Linn Indrestrand shared concrete experiences from working with industrial symbiosis and circular collaborations in the blue sector. Based on hands-on cases, one key message stood out clearly:
Circular economy does not start with technology – it starts with relationships, resource understanding, and the willingness to think across sectors.
Among other topics, we discussed:
How do we create value from existing resources?
How do we connect companies into functional ecosystems?
How do we ensure that circular solutions are also financially sustainable?
At the same time, we had valuable dialogues with Natural State and OceanVju about the interaction between place development, market development, and circular business development in coastal communities.
Last week, we at Danish Ocean Cluster had the pleasure of welcoming a delegation from West Flanders – including key stakeholders from the Belgian marine sector.
We welcomed:
Sylvie Becaus from Zeebrugge Food Logistics
Evy De Bruyker from Marifish.Inc
Bert Mons, CEO of Voka – Chamber of Commerce West Flanders – representing more than 3,500 member companies
The program provided broad insight into the blue ecosystem of North Jutland, with visits to:
North Sea Science Park
Flume Tank North Sea
Maripure
Port of Hirtshals
Hirtshals Fish Auction
Port of Skagen
MARTEC
Skagen Salmon
The days were filled with open and honest discussions about value chains, innovation, logistics, and sustainable development. Sylvie Becaus is also director of the fish auction in Oostende and co-founder of land-based aquaculture in the area – and there are clear parallels between our regions.
We share many of the same challenges, but also significant potential for collaboration. Therefore, Danish Ocean Cluster is planning a study trip to the Oostende area later this year.
It is in the meeting between people, companies, and innovation environments that new ideas emerge – and relationships are strengthened.
Last week, we at Danish Ocean Cluster had the pleasure of welcoming the Finnish company Hailia to Hirtshals.
Hailia is an innovative company that, through a patented method, transforms side streams from the fish industry into tasty and sustainable products – including a type of “pulled fish.” What makes the technology unique is that more than 90% of the fish can be utilized, including the bones. A strong example of how circular economy principles can be turned into concrete food products.
The visit began at Danish Ocean Cluster’s Innovation Day, where Hailia presented their solution and served tastings – much to the delight of the participants.
The following day, the program continued with company visits in Hirtshals, including Port of Hirtshals and North Sea Science Park. Here, they gained insight into the maritime innovation environment and the collaboration opportunities connected to the blue sector in North Jutland.
We greatly value the opportunity to build relationships between the Danish and Finnish innovation ecosystems – and we look forward to continuing the dialogue and exploring potential collaboration.
On Tuesday, January 13, Danish Ocean Cluster, together with Erhvervshus Nord, brought together members, speakers, partners, and other participants for a day full of innovative thinking, concrete solutions, and discussions on blue innovation in practice.
The day featured short, practical presentations from Danish and international companies that are already creating value, with a focus on new technologies, utilization of side streams and marine resources, circular solutions, energy efficiency, and process water treatment.
We were pleased to see many fruitful conversations and new connections forming, and it was clear that participants left with plenty of inspiration and concrete ideas for collaboration.
A special thanks to the day’s speakers:
Mette Lübeck
Th. Johann Palsson – SeaMary
Hailia Nordic
COOL4SEA
Waister AS
Decameal
Renahav Sverige AB
Pernille Bak Andreasen
Clean Valley CIC
The Innovation Day once again highlighted the strength of the Danish Ocean Cluster community – a network where knowledge is shared, relationships are built, and ideas are turned into action through cross-sector collaboration.
Danish Ocean Cluster Welcomes Natural State on January 28, 2026
On January 28, 2026, Danish Ocean Cluster had the pleasure of welcoming Natural State, a Norwegian company focused on circular solutions and sustainable resource utilization with nature as a guiding principle.
During the visit, potential future collaboration opportunities were discussed. The conversations confirmed strong overlaps and clear synergies between Danish Ocean Cluster and Natural State’s focus areas, as well as significant potential to strengthen each other’s work moving forward.
Among other initiatives, Natural State has established Nordic Circular Hotspots – a project aimed at strengthening Nordic collaboration on the circular economy by facilitating knowledge sharing, partnerships, and the commercial development of circular solutions across sectors and countries.
The visit also highlighted Danish Ocean Cluster’s ambition to promote circular economy and sustainable solutions in and around the ocean, as well as the importance of reinforcing commercial relations across the Nordic and North Atlantic regions.
Danish Ocean Cluster thanks Cathrine and her team for an inspiring and engaging visit.
We are proud to announce that Danish Ocean Cluster is now part of Blue Nova Ventures – a global initiative that brings together leading ocean hubs to strengthen and accelerate the blue economy.
Danish Ocean Cluster is a national cluster with partners and members from Denmark and across Scandinavia. Since its foundation, the cluster has served as a strong platform for collaboration, innovation, and knowledge-sharing within the blue economy.
Through Blue Nova Ventures, new opportunities are created for the entire ecosystem: • Access to international knowledge and investments • Stronger knowledge-sharing across ocean environments and technologies • The ability to accelerate the projects we believe in – and which create value in synergy with others in the cluster
Many blue startups face the same challenges: capital, scaling, and access to the right partners. With Blue Nova Ventures, we gain a strong platform to connect Danish solutions with global investors and collaborators – creating even greater growth opportunities for the companies involved.
We look forward to accelerating the development of the Danish blue economy together with Blue Nova Ventures
We are participating in The Next Wave 25 on May 15th in Giske, Norway. Feel free to reach out to us if you want to have a chat – or find us at the exhibition!
We are participating in Aqua Nor from August 19th to 21st in Trondheim, Norway. Feel free to reach out to us if you want to have a chat – or find us at the exhibition!
