Reykjavík Grapevine


Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.08.2017, Blaðsíða 13

Reykjavík Grapevine - 25.08.2017, Blaðsíða 13
to consider nature,” Snorri says. “That's simple. We need to look into what ef- fect this business, like any other busi- ness, has on nature. We can't ruin the future where the environment is con- cerned. I believe that Icelanders in the Westfjords themselves are aware that we can't go too far. They care about their region and their land, and they want to be able to continue living in the Westfjords. They look at aquaculture as an opportunity, and I believe that they can benefit from it without damaging the environment." Iceland does have a law on aquacul- ture, which entrusts the Environment Agency of Iceland, the Marine Research Institute and the Food and Veterinary Authority with the task of assessing the environmental impacts of aquaculture. However, remember that aquaculture is still relatively new to the country. These institutions might have trouble assessing what to look out for, and it’s with this and many other points that Jón Kaldal, a journalist who has been openly critical of the burgeoning enter- prise, takes issue. Risk management “The main issue isn't the farming it- self, but how it's done,” says Jón. “And we have examples from history, from countries like Norway and Chile, that reveal that fish farming can in fact be very dangerous for nature. It's a pollut- ing industry. It can be very dangerous in particular for the local fish stocks." Statistically speaking, for every tonne of farmed fish, one is likely to escape. 130,000 tonnes to be farmed in Iceland could mean 130,000 escaped fish. The total wild stock of Icelandic salmon is 35-40,000, and each river has a localised supply. While Norway has banned so-called “open pens” for aqua- culture, these are precisely the types of pens that the developers of aquaculture in Iceland intend to use. "That's why these [open pen] pro- ducers have turned their attention to Iceland,” Jón points out. “They see an opportunity to make fast money here in an environment that's less strict than what they have to deal with back home. They want to do it in sea pens instead of closed circuit pens because it's cheaper. It is half the cost to build and maintain closed circuit pens, and the technology is maybe not completely mature yet." Jón points out another area that is threatened by aquaculture: pole and fly fishing on rivers around the coun- try—permission for which people pay large sums. This activity is arguably one of the oldest draws for tourism in Iceland, and is a significant source of income for some 1,500 local people and their families. “If farmed fish starts to show up in rivers, the interest of fly fishers goes away,” Jón emphasizes. “The main ar- gument for allowing large scale fish farming is that local people need work. But at the same time, people who al- ready have a substantial income in the countryside are in danger if others start farming fish at such a scale. It's something that's not really being dis- cussed at all, but it has to be considered as part of the equation." More money, more problems Furthermore, Jón doesn’t see the eco- nomic necessity of aquaculture for the country. "We're not fighting unemployment in Iceland right now,” he says. “We're in good shape. There's nothing that's really demanding that we take chances with nature. Especially considering how other people are surviving in the Icelandic countryside. The lobbyists who are trying to get more fish farming going in Iceland can't use job creation as the main argument. Their argument is that if you're against fish farming, you're against people in smaller towns having the right to survive. That's bla- tant propaganda. Where jobs are need- ed, the farming industry simply has to use the best available methods, mean- ing no open sea pens." This, ultimately, is the choice that needs to be made: greater income with increased risk, as would be the case with more aquaculture; or less risk and a continuation of the status quo that the fishing industry in Iceland has seen for generations. "To me it's very simple,” Jón says. “You should not gamble with nature, wildlife, and other people's survival." 13 The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 15 — 2017 Jón Kaldal "To me it's very simple,” Jón says. “You should not gamble with nature, wildlife, and other people's survival." First Æg isg arð ur Gei rsg ata Geirsgata No rð ur stí gu r Nýlendugata Mýrargata Hlé sga ta Rastargata Vesturgata Miðbakki Suðurgata Ægi sga rðu r Ægi sga rðu r TICKET OFFICE WHALE SAFARI Re yk jav ík O ld H arb ou r str and gat a HOF Lundargata Fró ðas und Eið Gra nuf elag sga ta Hofsbot Brekkugata Hafnarstræ ti ave gu rOd dag ata Skipagata G rerárgata Grundargata eyjargata TICKET OFFICE WHALE SAFARI #CLOSERTONATURE • #THEULTIMATEWHALEWATCHING • #WHALESAFARI +354 497 0000 • WHALESAFARI.IS • INFO@WHALESAFARI.IS THE ULTIMATE WHALE WATCHING TOURS FROM REYKJAVÍK & AKUREYRI CLOSER TO NATURE CERTIFCATE ofEXCELLENCE “ONE OF THE MOST FUN ACTIVITIES IN REYKJAVÍK ” Reviewed July 2016 AKUREYRI OFFICE +354 497 1000 REYKJAVIK OFFICE +354 497 0000 EXPRESS WHALES & MIDNIGHT SUN Price: 19.990 ISK WHALES, PUFFINS & REYKJAVÍK Price: 19.990 ISK “THANKS FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE EVENING!” Reviewed July 2016 DEPARTURES: Daily at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 & 20:00 SMALL GROUP: Max 12 passengers per boat EXPRESS TOUR: Two hour Whale & Puffin Watching Cover more area in our custom designed RIB boats Get closer to the Faxaflói bay wildlife Two hour Evening Whale & Puffin Watching Panoramic views of Reykjavík City DEPARTURES: Daily at 20:00
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