Under the Influence of Salmon: How a man and a fish turned our world upside down

About the book

James Youl wanted to turn the world upside down by transplanting salmon into the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. His mission was dismissed as scientific and ungodly madness, but over several decades of trial and tragedy it became the most audacious, romantic, and intensive wildlife feat the world has ever seen. His quest rewrote the laws of natural history and seeded today’s enormous consumption of salmon, the worldwide reputation of fishing in Australian and New Zealand waters, the global boom in fish farming, and the still-unresolved questions of the relationship between nature and humankind.

"Salmon have long swum in the flow of human ‘progress’. But no species has found itself amid such a maelstrom of today’s debates ... [drawing] special attention in a world now more aware of, and sensitive to, issues of sustainability, species welfare, technological over-reach, climate change, food security and geopolitical tension … whatever one thinks of the place of wild and domestic, the salmon biography continues to be rewritten, and at pace.” 

—Steve Harris: Author

"In this spellbinding, ripping account of an overlooked saga from Australia’s history, Steve Harris brilliantly captures the heroic folly of a group of dreamers – single-minded men hellbent on bringing the Old World’s most famous sport fish to the Antipodes. If fish and fishing mean half as much to you as they do to me, I doubt you’ll be able to let this one go!

— Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling: Fishing Communicator & Educator