The first projects supported by 'The Orri' Award have raised more than £44,000 for wild salmon conservation in UK rivers, exceeding their original targets and highlighting growing grassroots support for river restoration with more than 300 donors.

The award, launched by NASF UK in honour of its founder Orri Vigfússon, provides match funding to community-led projects working to restore salmon habitat and strengthen engagement with local rivers.

Vigfússon, an internationally recognised conservationist, was instrumental in brokering agreements in the 1980s and beyond that reduced industrial overfishing of Atlantic salmon across the North Atlantic. He often described the species as:

“The king of fish, the most beautiful fish. They are born in the rivers, they travel out to sea, and they come back home.”

Two pilot projects took part in the inaugural round: the River Cree Hatchery and Habitat Trust in south-west Scotland, and the Ribble Rivers Trust Hodder project in Lancashire. Both began with a £20,000 fundraising target, supported by £10,000 match funding from NASF UK, alongside campaign support including film content and messaging that helped both projects exceed their targets.

Together, they not only met but surpassed expectations, raising a combined total of £44,328.

The River Cree project raised £22,750, funding an expansion of its hatchery work focused on increasing the number of wild salmon fry reared and released into the River Cree. The aim is to strengthen juvenile salmon recruitment and help offset long-standing habitat pressures in the catchment. The extension also supports local education work and volunteer activity along the river.

Murdo Crosbie, co-ordinator at the River Cree Hatchery and Habitat Trust, said the award had filled a critical gap for smaller organisations.

“Accessing smaller-scale grant funding can be challenging, so 'The Orri' award has filled an important gap for us. It has enabled us to expand our wild salmon conservation hatchery, primarily to increase the number of fry released into the River Cree and support recovery of the system,”

He said. “It has also created more space for our education programme with children, as well as for volunteers helping restore river habitat.”

On the Ribble system, the Hodder ‘Together for Salmon’ initiative raised £21,578, supporting habitat restoration and community monitoring work.

Jack Spees, Director and CEO of Ribble Rivers Trust, said:
“The NASF UK Orri Award fills a funding gap, enabling local community-based salmon conservation projects to move forward quickly and at the right scale.”

He added that citizen science would play a key role in measuring impact.

Ribble Rivers Trust volunteer and angler, Greg Earnshaw said:
“We will train anglers to monitor salmon redds so we can measure the impact of gravel restoration on salmon numbers in the River Hodder.” Whilst, volunteer Kerry Stansfield, spoke of the habitat restoration work on the banks of the River Hodder as wider works being delivered to benefit wild salmon.

The projects reflect the North Atlantic Salmon Fund’s ambition to support locally led salmon conservation, with an emphasis on practical, measurable interventions at river level. The approach is designed to complement larger-scale conservation programmes and address a longstanding gap in funding available for small, community-driven salmon river restoration work.

Robert Sloss, chairman of NASF UK, said the results demonstrated the strength of the model. “I’m delighted that our inaugural Orri Award winners have successfully completed their crowdfunders, more than doubling our matched funding. This shows what can be achieved through targeted, community-led conservation.”

Looking ahead, applications for the 'Orri' Award will open in the autumn 2026. NASF UK is encouraging those interested in UK-based community salmon conservation projects to sign up for updates via its newsletter or follow its social media channels.