A new wildlife fund established to fight industrial scale salmon farming in Iceland

Sea cages in Berufjörður.

Sea cages in Berufjörður. mbl.is/Helgi Bjarnason

A new wildlife fund, The Icelandic Wildlife Fund (IWF) has been established to protect Iceland's nature , in particular the wild salmon stock in Iceland's rivers and lakes. 

Founders of IWF are pilot Ingólfur Ásgeirsson and managing director Lilja R.Einarsdóttir who lead a group of conservationits from a wide spectrum of society. In a press release it states that they all want to create "a fortress around Icelandic nature."

Urriðafoss waterfall in the Þjórsá river.

Urriðafoss waterfall in the Þjórsá river. mbl.is/Kristinn Magnússon

"The nature and environmental qualities of Iceland are facing a large threat from companies which plan to establish large scale salmon farming or to dramatically expand farms with current sea cages around the coast of Iceland. These companies have spent large sums of money in order to protect their own interests and to put pressure on local governing bodies and the Icelandic government. This needs to be fought against to protect Iceland's environment and delicate ecosystem. The fund is a non-profit organisation. 

Farmed salmon has a genetic make-up that is different to the native salmon species, conservationists argue, and they fear that sea cages could bring diseases which can infect the natural salmon stock.

The board of directors of IWF are Freyr Frostason, Örn Valdimar Kjartansson and Ragna Sif Þórsdóttir. 


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