Pop stars Björk, Rosalía add their voices to Icelandic salmon-farming opposition movement

The rapid growth of salmon farming in Iceland is a mounting cause of consternation among environmental groups, and adding to the opposition, native Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk has produced a new song aimed directly at the industry and its potential effect on the country’s environment.

The currently untitled track is a collaboration between Björk and Spanish singer Rosalía, with all the profits earned going toward supporting activists who are challenging industrial salmon farming. Its likely release date is slated for late October, with a preview already available online.

“Iceland has the biggest untouched nature in Europe, and still today, it has its sheep roaming free in the mountains in the summers. Its fish has swum free in our lakes, rivers, and fjords. So, when Icelandic and Norwegian businessmen started buying fish farms in the majority of our fjords, it was a big shock and rose as the main topic this summer,” Björk wrote. “We don’t understand how they had been able to do this for a decade with almost no regulations stopping them. This has already had devastating effects on wildlife, and the farmed fish are suffering in horrid health conditions; since a lot of them have escaped, they have started changing the DNA in Icelandic salmon.”

In addition to getting companies to retract farms in certain fjords, Björk added that the ultimate goal is to set strict regulations that help safeguard the country’s nature.

The song’s release follows  ...

Photo courtesy of Rlef89, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons