Project White Hart
A Critical Mission To Save England’s Chalk Stream Salmon from Extinction
In December 2023, Atlantic salmon were officially listed as endangered in Great Britain. For the genetically distinct and unique English chalk stream salmon, the situation is even more serious. Their numbers have fallen so catastrophically that they now face imminent extinction. Where once they returned in their many thousands, in the famous Test and Itchen chalk streams, returning adult salmon can now be counted in the dozens. The future of this incredible species now hangs in the balance.
The chalk stream salmon is also a keystone and indicator species whose presence, when abundant, signals a healthy ecosystem. Its decline to near-extinction is a grave warning about the wider health of our chalk stream environments – places of global conservation importance, the vast majority of which are located in England. A broad coalition of local and national partners has now formed to launch an ambitious, landmark wild salmon recovery mission in the Test and Itchen catchments, the beating heart of England’s chalk streams – Project White Hart.
The Mission
Project White Hart’s mission is to halt the imminent extinction of the irreplaceable English chalk stream Atlantic salmon and put them on a path to sustainable, long-term recovery.
The Vision
By 2050 we want to see thriving populations of chalk stream salmon in our rivers once again, transforming these catchments into international exemplars of community-coalition led species recovery.
The Challenge
Chalk stream salmon have declined to such critical levels that a single major event—like a severe drought or pollution spill—could push them beyond recovery. On the River Itchen in 2024, just 187 adult salmon are thought to have returned to spawn, representing only 20% of the river’s conservation limit—the minimum needed to sustain the population. It’s a dangerous downward spiral, and without urgent intervention, the outcome is extinction. The situation on the neighbouring River Test is similarly dire.
But Project White Hart is also about hope. Wild Atlantic salmon are one of nature’s great survivors—resilient, adaptable, and capable of bouncing back if given the chance. That means restoring the conditions they need to thrive once more:
- Cold, clean water free from pollution and disease.
- Unimpeded access to spawning grounds.
- Rich in-river feeding so young salmon can grow fit and strong.
- Protection in coastal waters and at sea during their marine migration.
- Rivers which are resilient and adaptive to a changing climate.
Project founder, Jim Murray MBE
Why it Matters
A Biodiversity Emergency
Chalk stream salmon are a unique genetic strain of wild Atlantic salmon. Now rarer than the Ganges river dolphin, African wild dog, tiger and panda, their extinction would be a global loss and a moment of unforgivable national shame.
An Impending Cultural Tragedy
Chalk streams and their wild salmon are inseparable from England’s natural history and cultural identity. It’s known that Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson was a passionate chalk stream angler and, from past centuries to the present day, entire communities, businesses and traditions continue to be shaped and defined by these irreplaceable rivers.
A Potential Lifeline for Wild Atlantic Salmon Everywhere
England’s chalk streams flow naturally cool, meaning they have built-in resilience to climate change and the rising temperatures threatening wild Atlantic salmon elsewhere across their range. It’s therefore possible that chalk streams may act as a globally important ‘ark’ and play a key role in saving the species at scale.
Project White Hart is about hope. Wild Atlantic salmon are one of nature’s great survivors – resilient, adaptable, and capable of bouncing back if given the chance.
That means restoring the conditions they need to thrive once more.
Plan of Action
To carry out our mission and achieve our vision, we’re setting out an immediate plan of action. The project will:
- Bring stakeholders, communities, environmental organisations, businesses, funders, regulators and policymakers to the table.
- Conduct a full ‘catchment audit’ for the Test and Itchen watersheds – a complete ecological health check to assess the problems facing wild salmon and define the restoration potential.
- Design and deliver a twin-catchment restoration plan to restore cold, clean water and spawning grounds; reduce pollution and when appropriate, enforce the Polluter Pays Principle; remove migration barriers; reconnect habitats; protect juvenile salmon and spawner’s through sanctuary zones; hold regulators to account; and engage communities and schools to protect our chalk streams.
Project partners held initial stakeholder engagement sessions with riverkeepers and landowners in 2025
Who’s Involved?
Project White Hart is building a coalition of local and national organisations, united by a shared mission and vision to save chalk stream salmon and their habitats.
Locally led by:
Test & Itchen Catchment Management Partnership and Wessex Rivers Trust.
Project Partners & Champions So Far:
- Activist and Angler, Jim Murray – Project White Hart Founder
- Angling Trust
- Atlantic Salmon Trust
- Ben Goldsmith
- Blue Marine Foundation
- Charles Rangeley Wilson OBE
- Catchment Based Approach (CaBA)
- Environment Agency
- Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust
- Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
- Hampshire River Keepers Association
- Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
- Paul Whitehouse
- Robert Plant
- Southern Water
- Test & Itchen Association
Why ‘Project White Hart’?
The White Hart is an ancient, noble symbol of rarity and redemption, long associated with English history, folklore and legend. It represents this project’s spirit: a bold and hopeful mission to restore something precious. Just as the white hart inspired legendary quests, today the white chalk inspires our mission to heal these emblematic rivers, the beating heart and lifeblood which flows through Southern England, and to save their unique wild salmon from the brink of destruction.
How You Can Support Project White Hart
This is a defining moment – truly the last chance to save wild chalk stream salmon. While rooted in local action, its success holds international significance, setting a crucial precedent for how industry and partnerships can embrace a positive, reparative role in environmental stewardship, underpinned by a robust funding strategy. Southern Water has pledged the initial project funding under the Polluter Pays Principle, and we are actively lobbying other key stakeholders to contribute. We welcome support from both private and public funding sources, however large or small.
To support us on this mission, please contact Curtis Williams – Project White Hart Programme Coordinator at curtis@atlanticsalmontrust.org
