Documental “A Salmon Nation”
Twenty-seven minutes that show the history of a country united by its lands and waters, also of the power of a community to protect the places and wild animals that are part of its identity. “A Salmon Nation” tells the story of Iceland, one of the last wild regions in Europe, where the continuous escapes of salmon from the farms installed there threaten the destruction of native fish species and their ecosystems. A problem that even united Björk and Rosalía in a song, for the fight against salmon farming.
In October 2023, Iceland gave a powerful message to the salmon industry, where a group of citizens met in front of government authorities and demanded concrete measures against the indiscriminate advance of salmon farms. Currently in the island region there are 51 areas dedicated to artificial salmon production. The Icelandic community rose up and protested after more than 3,500 salmon escaped from the farms of the MOWI company, who also have assets in Chile, where the Sernapesca report reports escapes of 834,000 specimens, in waters where this fish is not native.
An open net salmon farm is an industrial method of submerging cages in the sea where more than 200,000 fish are fattened at a time. “This type of initiative has no place in our waters,” concludes the community.
Iceland’s current concern is that these farmed fish reached the rivers where Iceland’s native salmon are, as noted in the documentary. This directly affects the habitat of wild salmon that die when interacting with their farmed counterpart due to the chemicals and parasites to which the latter is exposed.