THE SALMON. By Michael Wigan.

(2013) 2014 paperback edition. Small 8vo paperback (129 x 197mm). Ppviii,360. Colour photograph plates.

Packed with useful information drawn from years of experience and investigation. "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. "Michael Wigan gives us passionate advocacy on behalf of the wild Atlantic Salmon. Above all he recognises the salmon as an environmental indicator... as well as cultural icon and economic driver." (Tony Andrews, director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust).