Björk: Salmon firm goes head-to-head with Icelandic superstar over her bid to end open-pen fish farming

A salmon farming company has hit back at Björk's claims about their industry, saying it's actually one of the most sustainable ways to produce the increasing amount of food that the world needs.

The Icelandic pop star this week released her new single 'Oral', a collaboration between her and Spanish singer Rosalía. All proceeds would go to a non-profit called AEGIS, she announced, an organisation fighting open-pen fish farming in Iceland. Björk, who has long been an advocate for environmental causes in her homeland, said industrial salmon farming in open net pens was "horrid" for the environment, with farmed salmon going through "immense suffering".

"This is an extraordinarily cruel way to make food... The fight against the open net pen industry is a part of the fight for the future of the planet." The singer also pointed fingers at two particular firms - MOWI and SalMar - which "have already damaged big areas in our fjords". She said marine life, animals and plants had all been harmed. "We can still reverse this. Our legal cases on biodiversity, cruelty to animals and more could become exemplary cases around the world."

However, the CEO of Arnalax - an independent company which is part of the SalMar Group - Bjørn Hembre told NationalWorld: "In Iceland, the aquaculture industry is becoming a significant value creator and employer, bringing attention and responsibility with it. Björk has clear opinions, and we find that not everyone agrees with her.

"It is a fact that salmon farming is one of the most sustainable ways to produce the increasing amount of food the world needs, and Iceland has fantastic natural conditions for such production," he said. "We emphasize that the industry must develop in close collaboration with authorities, local communities, employees, and other business interests, and we have good experience with this here in Iceland."

Mr Hembre also acknowledged Iceland's open pen salmon farms recently coming under fire, after footage revealed fish riddled with sea lice infestations. "It is correct that there was a significant lice outbreak in Iceland at the beginning of October, which also spread to one of Arnarlax's facilities. Due to concerns for animal health and welfare, it was decided to harvest large quantities of fish and convert them into animal feed. This is very unfortunate," he said.

"All fish have now been deloused, the lice situation in our facilities is satisfactory, and everything indicates that the fish in our facilities are doing well. We will produce a sustainable and healthy protein for the ever-growing world population here in Iceland, with a focus on salmon and the environment."

NationalWorld has also contacted MOWI for comment. Open pen fish farms are where species like salmon are raised out in the open sea, contained by nets to stop them swimming away. Seafood watchdog SeaChoice writes, however, that it is considered a high-risk method of aquaculture.

Open-net pens allow "free exchange of waste, chemicals, parasites and disease" between captive salmon and wild fish and ecosystems, they write. "There is also the potential for farmed fish to escape. Farms can also attract predators, such as marine mammals, that can get tangled in fish farm nets and drown."