‘We don’t have time, we need to intervene now.’ Ken Whelan addresses ranching as a possible angler solution

05/17/24 • 60 min

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.

Internationally renowned fishery scientist, Ken Whelan, issues a call to action on the latest episode of The Last Salmon.

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

Previous Episode

Hatcheries - a solution or a problem?

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

Next Episode

The fight goes on and angler voices are needed now more than ever

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