Salmon in crisis: 'There is nothing left in the river'

Salmon levels in Ireland have reduced from 1.7m in the 1970s to fewer than 150,000. 'The catches won’t be reduced by regulation. They will be reduced by collapse,' says one expert

Jim Harding examines river stones for signs of aquatic life on a tributary of the River Barrow near Gowran, Co Kilkenny. Picture: Chani Anderson

Angler Jim Harding navigates his boat through the River Barrow with a heavy heart, as he struggles to contemplate where it all went wrong.

As the salmon population continues to decline so too does his hope for future generations of aquatic wildlife in the locality.