The Last Salmon

Following our conversation with Mowi Scotland Managing Director, Ben Hadfield , we invited two people with first-hand experience of Scotland's salmon farming industry to respond. Joining us are Nick Underdown , Scotland Director at WildFish, and Ailsa McLellan , a former salmon farm worker who now lives beside a Mowi salmon farm on Scotland's west coast. Together they examine many of the claims ma...

Here on The Last Salmon we’re as sceptical of salmon farming as you can get without needing therapy but we also think it's important that we hear their side of the story.   And their big wigs are usually so publicity shy that they make vampires look sociable.    Mowi are the biggest player in the salmon farming industry in the world and Ben Hadfield is the MD of Mowi Scotland and the CEO of Mowi C...

On Wild Salmon Day, Jim Murray returns with the first episode of Season 3, bringing together three leading voices from across the North Atlantic to discuss the future of wild Atlantic salmon. Joining Jim are Marina Gibson from the UK, Matt Hayes in Norway, and Vala Arnadottir from Iceland for a candid conversation about what their countries are getting right when it comes to salmon conservation –...

Season 3 of The Last Salmon returns on #WIldSalmonDay June 1st. Jim Murray is back with more guests, more insights, more controversy - and more solutions to drive change. We’ve even invited the fox into the hen house when Mowi’s Scotland MD, Ben Hadfield, sits down with Jim. But that’s all still to come.... The Last Salmon is in partnership with Loop Tackle, driving change for wild fish and wild p...

Alex Taylor is an avid outdoorsman, conservationist, and author of ‘The Longest Cast: The Fly-Fishing Journey of a Lifetime.’   But he is also CEO of Cox Enterprises, one of the largest private companies in America that generates $22 billion in annual revenue.   With such power comes a lot of responsibility and influence and he has directed investments toward sustainability-focused businesses, com...

As it’s that time of year again, we’re reposting our episode from December 2024 with chef and sustainable food activist, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, 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...

Once abundant in England’s crystal-clear chalk rivers, our chalk stream salmon now teeter on the edge of extinction.   The chalk stream salmon is one of the rarest fish on earth and yet, after 2 million years they are at one minute to midnight.   There are a myriad of pressures and problems pushing them to the brink but there is urgent work underway to help bring them back and Charles Rangeley-Wil...

Frederik W. Mowinckel is unique amongst those who oppose salmon farms.  It was his family who were some of the original salmon farmers in Norway that gave rise to the global, toxic industry, but the Mowinckels are now some of the most outspoken critics of its practices, especially that of Mowi who used the Mowinckel surname for their company name.   Frederik speaks to Jim on the latest episode of...

Continuing our journey across the Atlantic, this week we’re in Iceland, a land synonymous with countless stunning salmon rivers.     Peter Rippin, is a pioneering Englishman who throughout his career, has been setting up and running fishery operations throughout the world.   Peter currently runs the East Ranga in Iceland, a very productive salmon river and unique in that it is solely a hatchery ri...

Over this side of the Atlantic you probably haven’t heard of Hooké or its founder, Fred Campbell, but I liken him to a Canadian Yvon Chouinard, someone who has committed their life to the outdoors whilst also running a successful business.     And like Patagonia’s founder, Fred Campbell, is someone truly obsessed with protecting nature and the wild salmon.   To highlight the salmon’s precarious st...

Every so often you meet someone whose life is so remarkable and whose love of and determination in saving nature leaves you in awe.   I think of the campaigner, Alex Morton, from Season 1 on the Last Salmon, who has been responsible for getting the open pen salmon farms shut down in British Columbia, or the late Jane Goodall, the renowned primatologist and conservationist.   This week’s guest on T...

Just a few years ago the Baltic salmon were thriving, with huge numbers of fish running the pristine waters of Sweden.   Once thought to be on the brink, the salmon bounced back and were being celebrated as a success story.   However, something drastic has changed and the Baltic salmon are once again in decline.   Emilie Bjorkman and Lars Munk are fanatical salmon anglers who’ve committed their li...

Norway.  The legendary land of the giant salmon has been struggling of late, not least in the face of so many salmon farms throttling its beautiful coastline, but fishery and lodge owners are fighting back, trying to do what they can to preserve the wild salmon in Norway.   Ann-Britt Bogen from Gaula Fly Fishing Friends, and Matt Hayes, one of the UK’s most famous anglers who now lives full time w...

Rewilding.  It’s about taking a step back and leaving nature alone.     But, in the 21st century how can it be achieved?   Ben Goldsmith certainly believes it can – and must be done - and he is one of its foremost champions.   It was through tragedy however, after the death of his teenage daughter, Iris, when she was just 15, that, in grieving, Ben found solace and hope through the embrace of natu...

Midst the doom and gloom about the future of wild salmon, we have to believe - and have faith - that our collective actions – be it through conservation efforts, awareness campaigns, political lobbying – can and will have an effect.   And it is for the long term, for the next generation, that we really have to be thinking about wild salmon and for the sport of fly fishing for salmon itself.   This...

We know salmon numbers are down and we know there’s an existential threat endangering their very future, but this week on the Last Salmon, Jim Murray finds out why the Outer Hebrides could be the UK’s salmon stronghold.    Jim speaks to the chair of the Outer Hebrides Fisheries Trust, Richard Davies, who believes that their engagement with fish farms on the Isle of Lewis has resulted in helping th...

Is a river alive?  What a question….it throws up so many if, buts, maybes, but most importantly, why not?   Rivers helped save me, and I truly believe they are our lifeblood, our circulation, our healing waters.     But they also need saving now in these troubled times of extraction, industrialisation and pollution.   To kick off Season 2, we’re taking the big picture view when it comes to rivers,...

Wild salmon are in a perilous state.  But we can’t and won’t give up. The Last Salmon with Jim Murray is back for another season, launching July 25th, addressing the problems and hearing from all sides of the argument, to find the solutions to help save our wild salmon. It’s not too late, the salmon haven’t give up, and nor can we. The Last Salmon, presented by actor, artist and activist, Jim Murr...

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...