THE SALMON. By Michael Wigan.

2013 1st edition. 8vo (156 x 240mm). Ppviii,360. Colour photographs. Dark blue boards, spine titled in gilt.

Packed with useful information drawn from years of experience. "Sometimes the river was too high to see the fish pairs well, sometimes the wind shook up the surface too much to get a clear view... You know if they have already spawned and buried their eggs in the gravel because hit by the light they run, and squiggle downstream. Un-spawned, they face the light. It is one of nature's great spectacles." So begins Michael Wigan's fascinating investigation into the extraordinary world of the king of fish." The author "addresses the pressing matter of ...conservation and ...management, [lack of] which in the past has led to fast decreasing populations. History suggests it is the pressure of human development which has narrowed down the survival zone of the salmon, and the author questions whether we can go on altering natural systems and freshwater rivers in order to make space for human populations, and do so in sync with fish needs." Enthusiastic and well-informed.