On the 30th of April, Patagonia will be showing a remarkable film about a campaign in Iceland to ban open-net fish farms in its shop in Dublin. SWAN has been invited to talk on salmon fish-farming in Ireland at the event.
SWAN will be discussing how the environmental effects of salmon farming as seen in the film in Iceland are also shared by Ireland. We share many of the same concerns expressed in the film and will be presenting on how salmon farms in Ireland are affecting water quality, reducing wild salmon populations, exacerbating the issues of wild-capture fisheries, and hampering Ireland’s ability to meet the requirements of EU Directives for Good Environmental Status – all despite Irish salmon’s “organic” classification.
Film
Laxaþjóð | A Salmon Nation
Synopsis:
Our relationship with nature not only defines our history, it shapes our future, too. Yet beneath the surface of Iceland’s fjords, an industrial fish farming method threatens to destroy one of Europe’s last remaining wildernesses. Open net salmon farms wreak havoc on the fragile environments they’re placed in, polluting pristine ecosystems while mistreating the farmed fish and driving local salmon populations to extinction. It’s an industry at odds with Iceland’s untouched landscape, and as a growing local movement has shown, nothing replaces nature. Laxaþjóð | A Salmon Nation tells the story of a country united by its lands and waters, and the power of a community to protect the wild places and animals that helped forge its identity.
Length: 27 minutes
Watch the trailer for the film below here.