For they are worth it

“Veiði og verndun – í sátt við náttúru Íslands”, that’s what the Conference will be about: angling and conservation, in harmony with nature. It shall take place on March 26th, at Háskólabíó, 18:00. Later that evening the cinema will host the RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival, announced as one of the premier events on the international fly fishing calendar. This combined event will definitely kick off the Iceland 2015 angling season!

The theme of the Conference will be the socio-economic relevance of trout, char, and salmon fishing, and its impact on Iceland’s GNP as such, this being another yet utmost plausible reason for protecting and conserving these precious salmonids. Since there are many parties concerned and even more interests involved in using, managing, and controlling the rivers and lakes, we give the floor to a much varied group of speakers. Their contributions will be followed by discussions. Amongst them will be Helgi Guðbrandsson with an introduction to Continental Trout-Iceland’s conservancy policy and conservation projects, Sigurður Guðjónsson (Institute of Freshwater Fisheries) about the economic and social value of recreational angling, Sveinn Kári Valdimarsson going into the reclamation project of Landsvirkjun and the big trout in Lake Þingvallavatn, Óðinn Sigþórsson (Landsamband Veiðifélaga) explaining the view of the land owners, and many, many others.

We dare trust Össur Skarphéðinsson, Chair of the day and moderator, to steer this Conference into the right direction: reaching consensus on the necessity of a well-considered and mature “use” of resources, in a joint effort, for the sakes of our generation, and for those after us.