Saving the Wild Salmon

Orri Vigfusson reckons he has caught a few thousand fish in his 68 years, particularly wild Atlantic salmon from the rivers of Scotland, Norway or his native Iceland. These days, though, Vigfússon releases his silvery captives back into the chilly water, awaiting the day when Atlantic salmon from eastern Canada to north-western Spain to Russia's Kola Peninsula are as hardy and plentiful as they are in his favorite angling spot — "Big Laxá," the wide lower stretch of Iceland's River Laxá. And for the past 15 years, Vigfússon has pursued grander ways to counter the decline of the salmon population. Through...