In A Rural Legacy Lost. Net Salmon Fishing on the River Dart in Devon: An Occupation, Way of Life and Associated Dialect in Terminal Decline? we learn about the tradition of harvesting salmon as a means of business and pastime. Beginning with a biologically appropriate explanation of salmon as a species, a rare and hardy survivor of a fish that focuses its travels and migrations for the sole purpose of reproduction, Nick Baker commences an introduction of how people have worked to follow salmon, track its life cycle, and measure the strength of its population over time.
Referencing multiple governmental agencies and professional organizations, Baker reveals the challenges the salmon population faces with regard to problems posed by global warming and climate change; illustrates and organizes historical dialect and jargon; and presents how the decline of salmon fishing and loss of farming has impacted the housing and economic structure of Stoke Gabriel in Devon. This expose of salmon fishing and the changing Devon community is concluded with a list of potential issues the people face and some solutions that may help.