Christmas Special: Keeping farmed salmon off the table with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

The Last Salmon

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.