Orri Vigfússon (10 July 1942 – 1 July 2017) was an Icelandic entrepreneur and environmentalist. His stated objective was to "restore the abundance of wild salmon that formerly existed on both sides of the North Atlantic". In 2004 ''Time'' magazine named him a "European Hero". He was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

in 2007 for his efforts on saving endangered species.Goldman Environmental Prize 2007
Orri Vigfússon
(Retrieved on 2007-10-25) "Salmon campaigner lands top award"
– BBC News (Sunday, 22 April 2007)'' (Retrieved on March 26, 2008) In 2008, he was elected as a Senior Global Fellow to the

Ashoka Fellowship Ashoka (formerly branded Ashoka: Innovators for the Public) is an American-based nonprofit organization that promotes social entrepreneurship by connecting and supporting individual social entrepreneurs. Their stated mission is "the creation of a ...

. He died on 1 July 2017 in Reykjavik of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

at the age of 74.

Mark Kurlansky Mark Kurlansky (December 7, 1948) is an American journalist and writer of general interest non-fiction. He has written a number of books of fiction and non-fiction. His 1997 book, ''Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World'' (1997), ...

dedicated his 2020 book, ''Salmon'', to the memory of Orri Vigfússon.

References

1942 births 2017 deaths Orri Vigfusson Orri Vigfusson Fish conservation Articles containing video clips Orri Vigfusson Goldman Environmental Prize awardees Ashoka Fellows {{environmentalist-stub