RIP Kurt Oddekalv - Green Warrior & Salmon Hero! https://t.co/T3A2THO8jL @NMF_tweet @KurtOddekalv pic.twitter.com/XovPsdvRy3
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 12, 2021
Kurt Oddekalv - leader of the Green Warriors of Norway - has sadly died. His fight against farmed salmon - which he famously labelled the "most toxic food in the world" - was legendary.
Kurt was the fiercest and bravest environmental warrior I have ever worked with - crusading against toxic salmon farms at home in Norway as well as in Scotland, Canada and Chile.
Kurt Oddekalv, a Norwegian environmentalist, says droppings from fish farms are destroying the coast and the environment. #frontlinePBS pic.twitter.com/x66pgCUE2K
— FRONTLINE (@frontlinepbs) April 26, 2017
Kurt was a force of nature. His energy, drive and humour will be sorely missed.
I worked closely with Kurt in 2012 when I joined the Green Warriors of Norway in their fight against salmon farming. He was a mentor, friend, father-figure and hero.
Warrior was an apt word to describe Kurt who trained in the Norwegian army alongside former Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg.
Kurt - a carpenter by trade - fought tirelessly for 40 years to protect nature with Friends of the Earth Norway and then with the Green Warriors of Norway.
Whether he was policing salmon farms in his 'Orca Queen' boat or shining a light on the use of toxic chemicals, Kurt railed against environmental injustice and exposed corporate corruption.
Kurt hardly ever missed his mark.
Kurt's stunts to raise the profile of environmental issues were the stuff of legend - like the time he blew up a Citroen car outside the French embassy in Oslo.
Or the time he dropped a ‘stinkbomber’ (stink bomb) at the AquaNor trade show when his Green Warriors returned stinky salmon farm wastes back to the Norwegian salmon farming industry.
The smell was so bad the farmed salmon shit had to be hosed away from the entrance!
Or the time he sprayed the toxic chemical Rotenone (he actually used milk instead) into a salmon farm.
And the time the Orca Queen was attacked by a salmon farmer in Hardangerfjord!
Kurt's stance against salmon farming and advocacy against the consumption of toxic farmed salmon was as uncompromising as all his other battles.
Kurt was larger than life. Rest in peace Kurt - his salmon spirit lives on in Valhalla!
Read more via:
Salmon Wars: Anger in Hardangerfjord!
Salmon Wars: When Farmers Attack!
Salmon Farms Get Out of Hardangerfjord!
Kofi's United Nations of Aquaculture
Norwegian Warrior Oddekalv Takes on Marine Harvest in Scotland!