We have to take care of the planet better. Think about the ecosystems and how superior they are. Man is simply a small piece, the missing link in the balance of nature. Our wild salmon stocks are in trouble and need our focus. Way back our rivers were full of salmon, only the strongest manage to spawn and only the toughest made it to be smolt and reached the feeding grounds in the open sea.

I started already back in the 80’s fighting commercial overfishing on mixed stocks in the open sea. But also, I early started questioning the fact that too big percentage of the wild fish running our rivers where rod caught and killed. There was few responding to the situation. Among our own groups few understood the importance of catch and release and ecological fishing. One of my heroes, maybe the biggest salmon hero of all times, Mr. Orri Vigfússon understood the situation and with his creation NASF started to buy out the commercial quotas in the Atlantic. I was lucky enough to learn to know Orri and backed his ideas already from first day. He was a visionary man and fighter that saved more wild salmon than anyone else – a true hero. Unfortunately, Orri is no longer among us.

Our wild stocks of salmon have long been under hard pressure. Most of our Swedish, many Norwegian and worldwide a big percentage of our wild salmon rivers have been dammed. Some without fish passes some with, but all attacked by man with destroyed spawning grounds and crashed ecosystems.

Gyrodatylus Salaris, the parasite rammed some of the best rivers, Driva, Laerdal, Rauma, Vefsna and several more. Our seas are heavily polluted, the Baltic worse than the Atlantic. Unbalance, diseases threaten our stocks to extinction. All along the coastlines there are still different kinds of traps. The fish that in the ecotourism industry alive is worth 200€/kg is killed for 30€/kg for food. It’s remarkable how this madness still continuous. Everyone wants a part of the silvery gold that the salmon are, many with short sighted perspective and with negative impact. The best and sustainable way – eco tourism is growing but too slow and a bit late.

Already back in the 80’s the Norwegian companies started farming salmon. I was among those that thought this was the solution. Now they could stop the slaughter on our wild fish and feed people from farms. It didn’t take long before we had to change our mind. The “solution” turned out to be the biggest threat. The farms were sea lice factories that killed the outgoing smolts, escapes mixed with wild stocks to a gigantic genetic pollution. With the growth of the fish farming industry the problem exploded. Some of Norway’s most famous big fish rivers was rammed hard. Vosso and the famous Bolstad river was destroyed, Stryn and Årøy hardly rammed, the whole west coast of Norway, the south and also all the way to Finnmark in the north.

2016 a genetic examination of the rivers showed that fish farming escapes changed 60% of the rivers’ genetic status, 20% probably beyond rescue. Among those rivers also the best big fish river in the world – the Alta.

The industry went out of control, the fjords show collapsed ecosystems with dying bottoms, disappearing cod and prawn populations. Fish farming is today by far the biggest threat to our wild salmon stocks. Not only hear in Scandinavia. The same Norwegian companies have destroyed the Chilean coast, the west coast of Scotland, parts of BC and now they are going for Iceland.

2017 I dived by a Norwegian fish farming facility in the Alta fjord. This as part of a Patagonia film project – Artifishal. A film to show how hard hatcheries and fish farming effect the wild natural stocks.

2018 was a hard year fighting the industry, I got accused and convicted for trespassing, but my filming was spread all over the world. The ugly disgusting clips of sick deformed fish with open wounds and fungus was shown to millions of people. I did hundreds of interviews in newspapers, radio and TV. Who would like to eat this? Who would like to contribute to this?

The simple solution is to quit eating this highly toxic food. To demand the authorities to listen to the scientists and stop the madness, to move the farms into closed containments and up on land. To take control and save our wild fish and river systems. The fight is not over, quite the opposite, we must take action and save these magnificent fish for future generations. We must all of us do what we can – it’s our responsibility.

We support and take part of several organizations and their work for a sustainable future. We ask you to do the same, look among the organizations and movements that we see as the most important in this fight here. Read about their work, spread the word to the people around you, donate money, engage and offer your help in fight – that way you will make a difference! Also check out our Fight for the Wild Salmon merch right here.

We have to take care of the planet better. Think about the ecosystems and how superior they are. Man is simply a small piece, the missing link in the balance of nature. Our wild salmon stocks are in trouble and need our focus. Way back our rivers were full of salmon, only the strongest manage to spawn and only the toughest made it to be smolt and reached the feeding grounds in the open sea.

I started already back in the 80’s fighting commercial overfishing on mixed stocks in the open sea. But also, I early started questioning the fact that too big percentage of the wild fish running our rivers where rod caught and killed. There was few responding to the situation. Among our own groups few understood the importance of catch and release and ecological fishing.

One of my heroes, maybe the biggest salmon hero of all times, Mr. Orri Vigfússon understood the situation and with his creation NASF started to buy out the commercial quotas in the Atlantic. I was lucky enough to learn to know Orri and backed his ideas already from first day. He was a visionary man and fighter that saved more wild salmon than anyone else – a true hero. Unfortunately, Orri is no longer among us.

Our wild stocks of salmon have long been under hard pressure. Most of our Swedish, many Norwegian and worldwide a big percentage of our wild salmon rivers have been dammed. Some without fish passes some with, but all attacked by man with destroyed spawning grounds and crashed ecosystems.

Gyrodatylus Salaris, the parasite rammed some of the best rivers, Driva, Laerdal, Rauma, Vefsna and several more. Our seas are heavily polluted, the Baltic worse than the Atlantic. Unbalance, diseases threaten our stocks to extinction. All along the coastlines there are still different kinds of traps. The fish that in the ecotourism industry alive is worth 200€/kg is killed for 30€/kg for food. It’s remarkable how this madness still continuous. Everyone wants a part of the silvery gold that the salmon are, many with short sighted perspective and with negative impact. The best and sustainable way – eco tourism is growing but too slow and a bit late.

Already back in the 80’s the Norwegian companies started farming salmon. I was among those that thought this was the solution. Now they could stop the slaughter on our wild fish and feed people from farms. It didn’t take long before we had to change our mind. The “solution” turned out to be the biggest threat. The farms were sea lice factories that killed the outgoing smolts, escapes mixed with wild stocks to a gigantic genetic pollution.

With the growth of the fish farming industry the problem exploded. Some of Norway’s most famous big fish rivers was rammed hard. Vosso and the famous Bolstad river was destroyed, Stryn and Årøy hardly rammed, the whole west coast of Norway, the south and also all the way to Finnmark in the north.

2016 a genetic examination of the rivers showed that fish farming escapes changed 60% of the rivers’ genetic status, 20% probably beyond rescue. Among those rivers also the best big fish river in the world – the Alta.

The industry went out of control, the fjords show collapsed ecosystems with dying bottoms, disappearing cod and prawn populations. Fish farming is today by far the biggest threat to our wild salmon stocks. Not only hear in Scandinavia. The same Norwegian companies have destroyed the Chilean coast, the west coast of Scotland, parts of BC and now they are going for Iceland.

2017 I dived by a Norwegian fish farming facility in the Alta fjord. This as part of a Patagonia film project – Artifishal. A film to show how hard hatcheries and fish farming effect the wild natural stocks.

2018 was a hard year fighting the industry, I got accused and convicted for trespassing, but my filming was spread all over the world. The ugly disgusting clips of sick deformed fish with open wounds and fungus was shown to millions of people. I did hundreds of interviews in newspapers, radio and TV. Who would like to eat this? Who would like to contribute to this?

The simple solution is to quit eating this highly toxic food. To demand the authorities to listen to the scientists and stop the madness, to move the farms into closed containments and up on land. To take control and save our wild fish and river systems. The fight is not over, quite the opposite, we must take action and save these magnificent fish for future generations. We must all of us do what we can – it’s our responsibility.

We support and take part of several organizations and their work for a sustainable future. We ask you to do the same, look among the organizations and movements that we see as the most important in this fight. Read about their work, spread the word to the people around you, donate money, engage and offer your help in fight – that way you will make a difference!

Also check out our Fight for the Wild Salmon apparel and help spread the message!