This two-day conference in Cambridge, inspired by the work of a great English poet and salmon fisherman, Ted Hughes, aims to act on his example. The salmon smolt, Hughes knew, is ‘owned by everyone’, and he campaigned on behalf of this totemic fish. Today the species still faces ‘a thousand perils’. Scientists, anthropologists, anglers, conservationists, storytellers, poets and critics from Northern Europe and America will share perspectives on every stage of the salmon’s life, each of the habitats it connects, and on how best to raise our voices for this silent hero.