Icelandic musician Björk has filed four lawsuits over salmon farming in Iceland, which has been financed by proceeds from her single with Rosalía, “Oral.”
According to Björk, all income from the song released in 2023 had been directed toward “invent[ing] a new legal environment to protect nature” and preventing Iceland from being “submerged in the fish-farming industries”.
Björk explained that the funds have supported four separate legal actions. The first targets efforts in Seyðisfjörður, where residents are trying to block the licensing of a planned fish farm. Another case concerns marine spatial planning in the same fjord. A third action addresses incidents of farmed fish escaping in Tálknafjörður and Patreksfjörður in the Westfjords. The final case involves Sandeyri, where she said the goal is to halt the operation of a fish farm that was established “against a farmer’s will.”
In a statement released by Björk, the single “Oral” has allowed activists to continue their pursuit of strengthening wider marine and freshwater protections.
Björk has joined AEGIS and other environmental groups in Iceland in their campaign against open-net pen salmon farming, which they say threatens ecosystems by contributing to pollution, spreading disease, and allowing farmed fish to escape.