Today (April 10, 2025), we’re highlighting a short video by the ecological association AEMS – Ríos con Vida (Rivers with Life), part of its campaign to promote the conservation of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) on the Iberian Peninsula.
In Spain and Portugal, the Atlantic salmon has been a culturally significant species for centuries — a symbol of people’s deep connection to rivers and nature. Despite this heritage, widespread river fragmentation caused by dams and barriers, climate change, pollution, and overfishing have led to a sharp decline in salmon populations. Iberian rivers once welcomed hundreds of salmon swimming upstream each year for millennia. Now, many haven’t seen a single salmon in years.
In its campaign video, AEMS – Ríos con Vida issues a call to action to help protect the endangered Atlantic salmon in the Cantabrian mountain ranges. The message is directed at everyone who can make a difference — from fishers to public administrations and policymakers. The video highlights the key drivers of salmon decline — habitat fragmentation, global warming, pollution, and overfishing — and urges immediate action.
It also calls for accountability from fishers, asking them to avoid killing salmon, and questions the effectiveness of past stocking programs implemented in Spain to recover the species.
And you — will you help the Iberian salmon return to its rivers?
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