As a member of a Northern Iceland fishing family he believed that professional fishermen have a right to earn a living. Hence NASF's guiding principle that every netsmen who volunteers to stop salmon fishing must receive fair compensation and help in finding alternative employment. That is the basis of the commercial agreements that now protect the salmon's high seas feeding grounds off Greenland, Iceland and the Faroes, the shores of Canada and north east coast of the USA, the coastal waters of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and, most recently, the Trondheim region of Norway.

So far it is estimated that NASF has saved more than five-million million wild salmon and thirty million dollars (20-million pounds sterling) has been collected and spent in doing it. Last year the rewards began to come through. Most countries with salmon rivers enjoyed a huge increase in stocks and record or near-record angling catches. If this upturn is maintained Orri (whose NASF work is entirely voluntary) and his many voluntary workers will be able to say: "We turned the tide for the salmon!"

A central pillar of his conservation philosophy is his belief that salmon management is best left to the private sector. This is based on his own experience as the leading light of several Icelandic angling clubs which successfully run some of the country's best-known salmon rivers. This is the general practice in Iceland and the government's light touch in leaving most of the management work to private individuals has been handsomely rewarded. Iceland's wild salmon are now key contributors to the national economy.

Just occasionally he gets to do some salmon angling himself though he tends to spend much of his time on a river guiding friends and supporters. If really want to relax he goes abseiling in the traditional Icelandic culinary pursuit of sea birds' eggs on.the scary cliffs of a small island he owns off Northern Iceland.