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 affect change.’

Hugh is also critical of celebrity chefs and the media who promote and use farmed salmon.

‘Once chefs have the opportunity,’ he tells Jim. ‘And it’s often a very well-paid opportunity, to appear on television and talk about food, sell their books and promote their various businesses, that increases their responsibility to think about the quality and sustainability of the produce that they’re using and that they’re communicating to the public about.’

Hugh has a long record of opposition to farmed salmon that is unsustainably produced and he tells Jim why a bass will be coming out of his freezer for Christmas instead.  Plus he has some great tips and recipe ideas for alternatives for the dinner table this Christmas.

Image: RiverCottage.net

The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor and salmon activist, Jim Murray, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.  

Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

Season 2 of The Last Salmon launches in March 2025 with more insights from salmon anglers, fishery scientists and conservationists.

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 with an update, and they tell of legislation being watered down and politicians ignoring the public will.

‘The fight must go on,’ is their impassioned plea and they urge people to sign the petition at LetsUndoThis.com to help in the fight to save the wild Atlantic salmon.

#thelastsalmon #fightforthewildsalmon

Image: nasf.is

 
The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.  Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

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 breeding, he points to the Burrishoole ranching programme and the work of Dr. David Piggins and says this is the model that can be followed for supporting a rod fishery in lieu of wild stock.

Whilst wild fish conservation measures must continue to be carried out, drastic and innovative action is needed, says Ken, if we are not to see entire salmon stocks disappear.

Image: Burrishoole Fishery

#thelastsalmon #fightforthewildsalmon

 
The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.  Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

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 Board, where they run the very successful Kelt Reconditioning Project

and Professor Phil McGinnity at UCC who has been working in fisheries research and management for more than quarter of a century.

Image: tayrivers.org

#thelastsalmon #fightforthewildsalmon

 
The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.  Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

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 Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.  Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

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 the mighty Atlantic salmon, as well as his ongoing efforts to help fight for their future.

Pour yourself a drink, sit back and enjoy as Matt Harris, fly angler extraordinaire and raconteur with a rod, joins us on the latest episode of The Last Salmon.
 
 Image: www.mattharrisflyfishing.com
 
#thelastsalmon #fightforthewildsalmon

 
 The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.  Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

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 action in helping to save the fish.  'Fishermen are not true advocates of fish,' he says. 'Surfers and kayakers are much more environmental.'  Plus he saves his most stinging words for the fish farming industry describing them as 'evil', saying 'we're destroying the planet with industrial agriculture and now we're doing the same thing with aquaculture.'

And as for the three laws he would pass if he were President of the United States?  Tune in to find out.

Yvon Chouinard is one of the greatest advocates and activists for environmental change, someone to help inspire fly anglers to act now before it's too late.

Image: Patagonia.com

#thelastsalmon #fightforthewildsalmon

 
The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.  Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and for regular updates, follow the show at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon.

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 current fish farming practises are not stopped.

He also talks about his memorable days of 30lbs fish and the heartbreak of the biggest one that got away.

He’s the ultimate salmon angler who we can all learn from – from fly fishing on the water to saving the fish itself.

Image: Frodinflies.com

#thelastsalmon #FighttosavetheWildSalmon
 
For regular updates follow the show on Instagram at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon

 
The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.

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 Blue Marine Foundation, one of the leading global, marine conservation NGOs and he joins us to explain what’s happening out in the oceans and how the establishment of Marine Protected Areas around the world are helping preserve the oceans one area at a time.

#thelastsalmon #FighttosavetheWildSalmon
 
 For regular updates follow the show on Instagram at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon

 
The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.

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, two Scotsmen immersed in salmon throughout their lives.

Robert Mitchell, has been a salmon fishing ghillie on the River Spey for over thirty years.  He remembers the heyday and he also talks in stark terms about the fear that every ghillie has of there being no salmon left.

Colin Bull is Principal Investigator with the Missing Salmon Alliance and a specialist in salmon ecology at Stirling University and he says that with targeted conservation measures the salmon can be saved and we can and should be hopeful.

#thelastsalmon #FighttosavetheWildSalmon
 
 For regular updates follow the show on Instagram at Instagram.com/TheLastSalmon

 
The Last Salmon is a new podcast hosted by renowned actor, Jim Murray, and award-winning producer, Daire Whelan, which offers hope and solutions to the tragic story that is unfolding for an iconic species in crisis - the wild Atlantic salmon.