The hopes and fears for salmon fishing in Scotland

03/29/24 • 60 min

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.

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.

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

Previous Episode

How Alexandra Morton won her fight against salmon farms

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 save the salmon and how success like hers can be achieved.

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

Next Episode

Charles Clover: helping to save the oceans one area at a time

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