Salmon Time: A More-than-Human History of the Decline of Atlantic Salmon in Modern Ireland, 1853-1970

This is the first history of the decline of wild Atlantic Salmon.

Wild salmon world-wide are in jeopardy, their existence threatened by a host of factors, from dams blocking their migratory patterns, to ocean warming caused by climate change, to diseases spread by farmed salmon. Atlantic salmon in particular are in freefall, their population fell by more than half between the 1980s and the 2010s.

The lives of salmon are intricately bound up with those of humans and other land and sea creatures. Their loss fundamentally impacts wider ecologies, societies, cultures and economies. There is a substantial body of scientific literature devoted to the decline of Atlantic salmon. However, the humanities, and history in particular have neglected this totemic species.

The objective of this research is therefore to trace the ecological, social, and cultural impacts of the decline of wild Atlantic Salmon, through case studies of three rivers in Ireland; the Lee, the Erne and the Corrib.

An historical approach offers a novel understanding of this crisis, providing a holistic notion of historical harm that encompasses often overlooked connections between social, cultural and ecological change.

This project will start earlier than most scientific studies, in order to contextualise the longer human-salmon relationship. Crucially, I offer a new approach to historical time, that centres salmon rather than human temporalities.

This will be achieved through the development of a new interdisciplinary methodology for studying ecological loss and decline, which combines traditional archival research with fieldwork and oral history. The project will result in three journal articles, a book proposal, three public history events and a website.

The fellowship will provide an opportunity to enhance my research skills under the expert mentorship of Dr Kevin O’Sullivan, expand my international profile, develop my pedagogical practice, and secure an academic position at a European university.