Seyðisfjörður residents block access in salmon farming protest

About 300 people protested plans for salmon farming in Seyðisfjörður on Sunday, blocking roads into the town and using kayaks to block access by sea, mbl.is reported. The demonstrations were held in Seyðisfjörður and at Austurvöllur in Reykjavík.

Benedikta Guðrún Svavarsdóttir, chair of VÁ, an association for fjord protection, said the protest had gone better than expected. She said residents hoped the action would prompt the authorities to listen.

VÁ said residents had opposed Kaldvík’s plans for six years. The company, which is owned by Norway’s Måsøval family through the holding company Heimstø and related parties including Austur Holding, wants to establish salmon farming in sea cages in the fjord. According to VÁ, 75 percent of residents oppose the plans. The association said the authorities had nevertheless granted permission for farming 10,000 tonnes of fish there.

Asked whether she believed the authorities would heed residents’ wishes, Benedikta said she wanted to believe it was still possible to reverse course. She argued that Kaldvík’s financial difficulties were clear and said residents wanted to shape their own future and develop the community in a way that respected nature and wildlife.

Benedikta said the company’s lenders had put it on alert and that it had lost tens of billions in recent years. She also pointed to a jellyfish problem in Reyðarfjörður on the day the operating permit was issued, saying hundreds of tonnes of dead fish were being removed from the company’s cages. She described the permit as a valuable asset for Kaldvík and said the authorities should support the public interest rather than help the company prolong its survival.