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.  Thanks to tireless efforts by Orri and more recently by the NASF Iceland board members and our partner in salmon conservation, the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF), there will be no commercial netting in Greenland’s mixed-stock fishery starting this August, allowing thousands of fish to return to their natal rivers across the North Atlantic Basin. Just days earlier, the NASF / ASF team also closed a deal with the Faroese fishermen’s union, Laksaskip, ensuring the continuation of a highly valued, decades-long deal banning salmon fishing in that region.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Orri would be proud that we have now agreed to a long-term agreement in Greenland for the first time in history and have extended the 22 year old agreement that he innovated with the Faroe Islands.

These two transactions ensure that increasing numbers of large, adult salmon from all over the Atlantic salmon habitat will spawn in their home rivers starting this August, providing critical population growth for both robust and imperiled stocks. In the case of Greenland, it is the culmination of years of efforts, begun by Orri, aimed at bringing fishermen back to the negotiation table and identifying sustainable economic development projects as alternatives to salmon netting.  In the Faroes, this is a continuation of the agreement that Orri put in place in 1991.

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps most importantly, these deals signify the future of NASF. They demonstrate the unwavering dedication of NASF affiliates on both sides of the Atlantic to work together to continue Orri’s mission.  That was evident this past March, at the first annual Salmon Summit hosted by NASF US, NASF Iceland, and our partners – which many of you attended. Approximately 60 representatives of over 30 NGOs from around the North Atlantic, research institutions, and sustainable industry groups convened in Reykjavik to discuss the state of salmon populations and to strategize a course for supporting remaining stocks. Salmon advocates came together, many for the first time, to discover areas of shared concern and to discuss how we can draw on our unique strengths and areas of expertise to advance the cause.  All Summit participants agreed that the time for in-fighting is over. It is critical for us to band together because the challenges faced by North Atlantic salmon are bigger than ever.

There have been several very powerful media productions that have recently been released to increase public awareness of the plight of the Atlantic salmon.  We were fortunate at the Salmon Summit to screen or preview several. Among them was the groundbreaking Norwegian documentary “Den fantastiske villaksen” (“Salmon Story”), the highly acclaimed Ocean Foundation production “Lost at Sea,”  detailing the research vessel Celtic Explorer and its findings, and a preview of the film “Under the Surface,” which was just released in Reykjavik with the goal of bringing attention to current threats posed by foreign aquaculture industry interests to Iceland’s salmon rivers.

NASF will continue to assist our colleagues in Iceland in this battle against Norwegian companies seeking to expand their fish farming operations into Iceland’s pristine fjords. We will work together with NASF affiliates and other partners in Canada, Norway, Sweden, the UK, Ireland and beyond, to coordinate our resources and to create the architecture necessary to enable collaboration – be it in organizing compelling media to educate policy makers, or in promoting sustainable aquaculture regulatory standards that will safeguard salmon consistently across the North Atlantic region.

I invite you to visit our website at www.northatlanticsalmonfund.org to learn more about what we have been doing.  We’ve included materials from this year’s Salmon Summit here and ask you to save the date for next year’s Summit in Norway on May 9th – 11th, organized by our partners Reddvillaksen.

And please do consider a donation to the Orri Fund, we cannot do this alone.

Sincerely,

Chad Pike
Chairman, NASF US

 

https://reddvillaksen.no/hva-bruker-vi-pengene-vare-til/

 

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/ef94f53e79bf87c28e8b70c6c/files/05b2c051-ed90-4273-b9e1-ca7d3dcdc366/NASF_High_Seas_Deals_Announced_May_28_2018.pdf

 

Thank you to all who attended the 2018 Salmon Summit held in Reykjavik, Iceland on March 22 – 23.  Approximately 60 representatives of over 30 NGOs, research institutions, and sustainable industry groups convened to discuss the state of North Atlantic salmon populations and to strategize a course for supporting remaining stocks.

During the two-day Summit experts from across the North Atlantic Basin provided in-depth updates on these and other issues vital to the species’ survival. Attendees met in breakout sessions to further discuss topics such as country-level advocacy, High Seas buyouts, and regulatory advances in aquaculture. Two films were screened, “Lost at Sea” and “The Salmon Story,” and attendees toured a local land-based aquaculture facility.

Please visit the NASF website to view the speaker presentations, event photos, and more.

Stay tuned for future updates from our partner Reddvillaksen (NASF Norway) on the next Salmon Summit, which will be held in Norway in May of 2019. Please also check out the Reddvillaksen publication about the threats to wild Atlantic salmon, to learn more about their work.

Her finner alle foredragene fra Salmon Summit 2018 på Island

http://northatlanticsalmonfund.org/home/events/

 

 

Om finansiering av Erik Steruds stilling som fagsjef i Norske Lakseelver

Reddvillaksen.no får stadig spørsmål om hva vi bruker våre innsamlede midler til. I dette innlegget gir vi informasjon om hvorfor vi årlig bidrar med Kr. 350 00 til finansiering av Erik Steruds stilling som fagsjef i Norske Lakseelver, norske elveeieres organisasjon.

Sterud har interaksjoner mellom oppdrettsfisk og villfisk som spesialområde. Han er dr.scient i fiskeparasittologi fra Norges veterinærhøgskole, med hovedfag i akvakultur fra Universitetet i Oslo. Med sin store kunnskap innenfor både oppdretts- og villaks ser vi på Sterud som en særdeles viktig aktør i den faglige debatten for å få produksjon av laks inn i andre og mer miljøvennlige former enn dagens, som ikke er bærekraftig, verken miljø- eller fiskehelsemessig.

Med Sterud og øvrige medarbeidere har Norske Lakseelver en faglig tyngde Reddvillaksen.no mangler. Norske Lakseelver er en sterk og respektert stemme mot så vel næringen som våre politikere.

Reddvillaksen.no og Norske Lakseelver har helt sammenfallende mål, nemlig å berge villaks og miljø. Vi jobber på en rent ideell basis, Norske lakseelver på vegne av deres medlemmer som er elveeierne. Begge arbeider for at lakseoppdrett skal drives innenfor rammer som gjør næringen bærekraftig – for eksempel å få næringen inn i lukkede anlegg.

 Artikler fra Erik Sterud finner du bl.a. her:

https://forskning.no/search/google/erik%20sterud

Reddvillaksen ser det som viktig å fortsette å samarbeide med Norske Lakseelver om denne stillingen.

 

Om leie av fiskerettigheter i farvannene rundt Færøyene og Grønland

Reddvillaksen.no får stadig spørsmål om hva vi bruker våre innsamlede midler til. I dette innlegget gir vi informasjon om vårt bidrag til årlig leie av færøyske fiskerettigheter.

Tidligere vitenskapelige undersøkelser fra 90-tallet har vist at opptil 60 % av laksen i området kommer fra norske elver. I 1998 ble det foretatt såkalt «omvendt” merking av laks fanget på Færøyene. Laksen som ble merket på beiteområdene nord for Færøyene og ble senere fanget i Norge.

Migrations paths of Atlantic Salmon. Credit: Atlantic Salmon Federation.

Et av de viktigste tiltakene vi gjør er å bidra med årlig økonomisk støtte til en avtale med færøyske og grønlandske fiskere. Dette er avgjørende for å hindre beskatning av villaks i oppvekst- og migreringsområder som skal tilbake til blant annet norske elver. Gjennom avtalen, som har pågått kontinuerlig siden 1991, er det estimert at et titalls millioner norsk laks er blitt spart. Vår første prioritet er derfor å sørge for at linefisket etter laks rundt Færøyene og Grønland ikke starter opp igjen.

Reddvillaksen.no bruker ca. Kr 400.000 til dette formålet årlig. For 2018 har vi bestemt å øke bidraget til kr 750.000 på grunn av ekstraordinære omstendigheter.

Prosjektet håndteres av NASF – North Atlantic Salmon Fund som samler inn bidrag til avtalen fra USA, Storbritannia, Frankrike, Sveits, Norge og Island.

Reddvillaksen vil fortsette å samarbeide med NASF og The Grassy Creek Foundation om dette.

 

 

Reddvillaksen had the privilege and pleasure of hosting Orri and an international delegation at Hardangerfjord Seminaret early May, when Norsk Industri presented their road map for future salmon farming. Orri’s health was at that point already weakened, but he took part in all presentations and discussions. We could see that he became optimistic for a future where all farmed salmon will be produced in closed containments, without spreading sea lice, diseases and bad genes to the wild fish.

Orri Vigfússon, became the Atlantic salmon’s greatest friend as this iconic species struggles to retain its position as the ‘King of Fish’. His enormous efforts to rebuild the threatened wild salmon stocks in the North Atlantic, brought him global recognition and well-earned honours from a huge assembly of admirers. Royalty and commoners, presidents and governments, anglers and conservationists alike have all applauded and rewarded his work with a wide variety of awards and supportive declarations.

In 1989 Orri observed the great damage being done by nets and long lines to the relatively small numbers of salmon that remained. Orri successfully pursued his idea of buying up commercial salmon quotas from fishermen in the Faroe Islands. A quota buyout was subsequently agreed with fishermen in Greenland in 1993. Gradually more agreements have been made on both sides of the North Atlantic through the work of NASF and its coalition partner organisations. Many Norwegian West Coast rivers would probably have been closed if this important buyout had not been done. Over the years more than 15 million salmon lives have been saved. The origin of 50 – 60 % of the salmon feeding or migrating in Faro water belongs to Norwegian rivers.

Orri! You were a dynamic man of action and the world is a poorer place with your passing. Your contribution to the Atlantic Salmon was beyond all measure. We guarantee you that ASF, NASF and other GMO’s will work hard to continue the work you started. But you left us a pair of big wading shoes to fill.

“Tusen takk” from the board of Reddvillaksen (NASF Norway)

A stop to all further open-sea salmon farming in Norway has been announced. This is a very important step towards the protection of wild Atlantic salmon stocks, many of which are under threat from a variety of dangers.

 

We have made a publication in English about threat to wild salmon. Basic are studies and conditions related to Norway, but the problem is international. The more people that understand the basics, the more power we get.

Feel free to spread this link to anyone that might be interested in facts, made up in an easy way so everyone can understand. Read in full screen mode. You can also put out link on own websites.