Icelandic Pro Chef Club Ends Contract With Fish Farming Company

After a series of protest resignations from the national pro chef competition upon discovery that Iceland’s Master Chef Club was being sponsored in part by a fish farming company, the board of the club has decided to terminate its contract with the farm, RÚV reports.

The club is comprised of many Icelandic pro chefs, who meet monthly and participate in an annual competition to choose the Chef of the Year. This year, it came to light that Arnarlax was one of the sponsors of the team, to the consternation of many of the chefs involved. In the wake of the revelation, fourteen chefs resigned from the team in protest.

Ylfa Helgadóttir, one of the competitors, summed up the reasons best in a post she made on Facebook:

“These production methods threaten the wild salmon and trout stocks and have many negative impacts on the environment,” she wrote in part. “I only use ingredients that are produced in a sustainable manner and in harmony with nature, and cannot participate in introducing, on behalf of Iceland, products that are manufactured [in fish farms].”

Björn Bragi Bragason, the president of the club, announced today that the club has terminated its contract with Arnarlax.

Fish farming is a controversial subject in Iceland. Supporters contend it will bring jobs, while detractors point out that farmed fish regularly escape into the wild, spoiling fish stocks and bringing diseases with them.