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#AgainstTheCurrent campaign launched in Iceland

Help us spread the word: #AgainstTheCurrent is fighting to protect Iceland from uncontained aquaculture, a dirty and environmentally devastating form of fish farming.

Iceland’s Parliament is set to consider a bill that would give the world’s largest aquaculture corporations unfettered access to the country’s famously pristine rivers and fjords, with dire consequences for the environment and local aquatic life. But in true Icelandic spirit, environmentalists, business owners, and residents are demanding a stop to the bill, demanding a thorough environmental review and consideration of sustainable alternatives.

#AgainstTheCurrent seeks to reverse the trend of destroying nature to cheaply produce fish.

Tell Iceland’s Parliament to freeze expansion and to support sustainable alternatives. Sign the petition and spread the word!

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Mikael Frödin Sentenced for Trespassing

The Swedish journalist and author, Mikael Frödin, was sentenced by the Alta District Court for having documented conditions at Greig Seafood’s salmon farm in Norway, Altafjorden. Frödin claimed that the act was a journalistic obligation, and that there was no choice but to swim near the cages. “The public must know how the industry affects ecosystems, how bad animal husbandry is and how this food is produced,” says Frödin.

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Chad Pike Earns Top Salmon Conservation Honor

Photo Credit: Neville Crabbe/ASF

The 2018 Lee Wulff Salmon Conservation Award was presented to Chad R. Pike, chair of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund (U.S.), for his key role in negotiating the recently signed agreement to suspend Greenland’s commercial salmon fishery for 12-years. A ceremony was held last night in New York at ASF’s annual Board of Directors dinner. Pictured from left are John Dillon, chair of the Atlantic Salmon Federation (U.S.), Chad Pike, and Bill Taylor, president of the Atlantic Salmon Federation.

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Journalist Sued by Norwegian Fish Farming Company

Norwegian fish farming company Grieg is suing journalist and author Mikael Frödin for trespassing in 2017 while filming fish farming facilities in the Alta fjord.

Mr. Frödin admits to trespassing, but objects to having committed a criminal act.

“We collected information, and it’s my journalistic obligation to show the public the negative impact of fish farming on ecosystems,” says Frödin.

The film and photo material obtained show diseased and deformed fish, neglected animals, negative ecological impact, and a significant risk for wild salmon stocks.

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Mass Resignations From Icelandic National Culinary Team: Reject Unsustainably Farmed Salmon

Fourteen chefs have quit the Icelandic National Culinary Team in protest over a sponsorship deal the National Chef’s Club made with a salmon farming company Arnarlax. The chefs who have quit the team in protest argue that the deal flies in the face of the team’s mission to promote only products of the highest quality, that are produced sustainably, and in full harmony with nature. Arnarlax farms salmon in open pens in the ocean.

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Countries agree to new measures for Greenland salmon fishery

Countries agree to new measures for Greenland salmon fishery

NASF, ASF conservation agreement leads to international cooperation

ST. ANDREWS, N.B. – Representatives of the Greenland government agreed to a zero commercial harvest for wild Atlantic salmon in 2018, 2019, and 2020 at last week’s annual assembly of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) in Portland, Maine.

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NASF / ASF Sign 12-Year Salmon Agreement with Greenland Fishermen

Dear NASF supporter,

Ten months ago, many of us travelled to Reykjavik to pay tribute to a legendary figure in the world of salmon conservation, Orri Vigfusson.   At the time, we did not yet know what the future of NASF would look like, but we pledged to preserve Orri’s legacy, to protect his life’s work and, in doing so, to continue to work together to fight for the survival of North Atlantic salmon.

I am happy to report that after months of negotiations, we have now secured a 12 year agreement with the Greenland fishermen’s union, KNAPK, to close their commercial salmon fishery.

 

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Medal of Honor: Fly Fisherman Magazine – February/March 2018

 

The Anglers’ Club of New York (ACNY), a nonprofit organization established in 1906, honored Orri Vig-fússon with its Medal of Honor for his lifelong devotion to salmon. The Medal of Honor is awarded for service “in the fields of conservation, ichthyology, and the sport of angling,” and has been awarded only 10 times in the club’s 110-year history. ACNY announced the award in March, but Vigfússon died July 1 before the medal could be conferred. Vigfússon’s wife Unnur Kristinsdóttir ac-cepted the award on his behalf in a special ceremony in New York City on October 5, 2017.

Orri Vigfússon founded the North Atlantic Salmon Fund (NASF) in 1989 in response to a precipitous decline in the numbers of wild Atlantic salmon due to the lethal impacts of high-seas commercial netting. A proponent of “green capitalism”—the principle that all wealth depends on the health of natural systems—Vigfússon brokered multimillion-dollar buyouts of salmon quotas from com-mercial fisherman in the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, England, Wales, Ireland, France, and Norway.

At the ceremony, American banker and economist Paul Volcker, with whom Vigfússon had planned a fish-ing trip for July, spoke of the importance of Vigfússon’s work. Chad Pike—an American private equity strategist who has been a significant donor and supporter of NASF—also spoke at the ceremony and said continuous funding is a critical element to the ongoing legacy of Orri Vigfússon. Donations in Vigfússon’s memory should be directed to the Orri Fund in care of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund.