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

While Jules Verne was captivating the world with his fantastical tales of space travel, a man from the British Empire’s most remote colony had a dream – to bring salmon to the Antipodes. James Youl wanted to turn the world upside down by transplanting salmon, and then trout, 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. Harris explores the history of salmon and, thus, the enduring colonial obsession with mastery over nature and enforcement of Eurocentric aesthetics in his latest historical work. Both a scientific and social commentary, Harris’ work is bound to enthral readers the world over – just as salmon enthralled the minds of the English, Australians and New Zealanders in the early twentieth century in their quest to bring England to Australia.