Orri Vigfussen - North Atlantic Salmon Fund
Reykjavik, Iceland

Restoring the world’s Atlantic salmon population is business as usual for Orri Vigfussen.

In fact, as Chairman of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund in Reykjavik, Iceland, Orri’s pioneering business approach to conservation has raised nearly $30 million to buy out high-seas commercial fishing rights and protect his beloved salmon.

Working with commercial fishermen in Greenland and the Faroe Islands, these efforts have had remarkable effects on salmon numbers across the North Atlantic. Even more remarkable may be the fact that NASF buyouts go beyond cash compensation to help fishermen find alternative employment. In the end, as Orri says, “Everyone wins.” Especially the salmon.
But Orri’s work is far from done. He hopes to end almost all North Atlantic high-seas net fisheries by 2010, and still needs $800,000 a year to continue funding current agreements.

Needless to say, he’s a busy man.

But throughout the hard business of rescuing salmon, Orri remains a fly fisherman at heart. He dreams of trips to far northern Iceland, “where the grass is greener, the ocean brighter and the sky gin clear.”  That the salmon are more numerous now makes it even sweeter.