The Kemijoki River in Northern Finland was once maybe the best salmon river in Europe.
The river was dammed after the World War II, and no fish passages were built, so the local salmon population was lost.
Kemijoki Ltd has now 16 hydro power plants in the Kemijoki River. The company wants to build one more with no fish passages. The planned Sierilä dam would drown the last free-flowing part of the river’s main channel under the dam reservoir.
The fisheries authorities have started a legal process requiring the power stations to build fish passages across all dams and to restore breeding areas.
The big power companies, PVO Ltd and Kemijoki Ltd (the latter with it’s owners Fortum, UPM, Helen etc.) oppose this process fiercely.
Professor and activist Vesa Puuronen, who lives by the Kemijoki River, painted pictures of salmon and slogans ”Free Kemijoki”, ”Free Salmon Rivers”, ”Save Mother Earth” on the walls of the power plants.
The power company sued him, and now he has to pay 20 000 euros as fines and compensations for damaging the dams.
A news story translated in English by Google:
Kemijoki Oy’s buildings were spray-painted as a protest against hydropower
