The Last Salmon

Chef and sustainable food activist, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, joins Jim Murray for a special Christmas episode of The Last Salmon podcast explaining why farmed salmon should not be on your Christmas dinner table this or any year.   ‘We need to hold the industry to account and provide people with alternatives,’ says Hugh.  ‘The way you spend your money is a vote.  Consumers have the power to aff...

For the final episode of the first series of The Last Salmon, Daire and Jim revisit Iceland and the issue of the regulation and future of salmon farms which Iceland’s politicians are currently drafting new legislation for.   Elvar Fridriksson, Iceland’s Programme Director of The North Atlantic Salmon Fund, and Jasper Pääkkönen, actor, angler and passionate conservationist, rejoin Daire and Jim wit...

Internationally renowned fishery scientist, Ken Whelan, issues a call to action on the latest episode of The Last Salmon.   He says that ranching can and will work to help improve salmon numbers in relation to supporting a rod fishery for anglers and he explains to us the background to its successful development and implementation – albeit with caveats and cautions.   Likening it to racehorse bree...

Hatcheries.  It’s a contentious issue amongst the salmon angling community and with numbers of salmon continuing to drop, more and more anglers are asking can and should it be introduced to their river?   For this week’s episode of The Last Salmon, we wanted to find out more about the pros, cons, nuances and science behind it and are joined by David Summers, Fisheries Director of the Tay Fisheries...

Simen Saetre is the co-author (along with Kjetil Ostli) of ‘The New Fish: The Truth about Farmed Salmon and the Consequences We Can No Longer Ignore’ and joins Jim & Daire on the latest episode of The Last Salmon to talk about their years of research into the salmon farming industry and the shocking information they discovered along the way.    #thelastsalmon #fightforthewildsalmon   The Last...

Matt Harris is the angler you want to fish with and hang out with in the hut or bar afterwards.   He has a lifetime of stories of fish caught, every one as good as the last, but despite having thrown a fly in practically every corner of the globe, it’s still the Atlantic salmon that holds a special place in his heart.   He talks to us about his favourite places and battles won – and lost - with th...

Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, wanted to live life and do things his own way.  In his 80s now and having given Patagonia away to help save the planet, Yvon is more likely to be found near a river bank fly fishing and he joins us to talk about his love of the sport and what anglers need to do help the plight of the salmon and of the planet. But he's also critical of anglers and their lack of...

He’s the Swedish salmon maestro who fished 250 days a season in his younger years, but he’s more than an expert salmon angler, he’s an ardent conservationist who says he will never stop fighting for the wild salmon.   Mikael Frödin joins us on the latest episode of The Last Salmon with revealing insights into the perilous state of the salmon which he believes could be gone within two decades if cu...

We take a brief departure from all things Atlantic salmon to focus on their second home - the ocean.   Charles Clover is one of the pre-eminent environmental journalists of our time, author of the eye-opening and best-selling, ‘The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat’ and most recently, ‘Rewilding the Sea: How to Save our Oceans’.   He is also co-founder of The B...

Scotland.  It’s the traditional heart and home of fly fishing for salmon.  The Spey, Dee, Tay and Tweed are rivers synonymous the world over when it comes to salmon fishing.   But, long gone are the days when salmon catches were guaranteed and getting onto certain beats were next to impossible.    In the midst of the Atlantic salmon crisis, Daire and Jim speak to Robert Mitchell and Colin Bull, tw...

Alexandra Morton is a warrior and a shining light who has fought and won her battle against fish farms.  She has committed her life to saving the wild salmon in her local area of Broughton Archipelago on Canada’s pristine British Columbia coastline.     She joins Jim and Daire on the latest episode of The Last Salmon to talk about her life of activism, why everyone needs to join in the fight to sa...

Paul Whitehouse, the comedic legend, and John Bailey, the wizard behind the scenes of Mortimer & Whitehouse Gone Fishing, join us on The Last Salmon podcast. With their outspoken views about scientists and what actually should be done to help their beloved fish, Paul and John bring a lifetime of fishing experience – as well as their wit and humour - to this week’s episode, including the welcom...

On this, the first episode of Season 1 of The Last Salmon podcast, hosts, Jim Murray and Daire Whelan, find out how the massive escape of farmed salmon in Iceland’s waters in the autumn of 2023, led to huge public protests at the damage being done to the wild salmon and their country’s pristine, natural waters.   Actor, angler and passionate conservationist, Jasper Pääkkönen, and Iceland’s Program...