Soccer fans have their superstars in Cristiano Renaldo and Lionel Messi.

Salmon anglers have Orri Vigfússon, pictured here with Fermanagh anglers Davey Stinson, Willie Mills and Michael Stinson.

Mr. Vigfússon, who lives in Iceland, is credited with saving many millions of wild Atlantic salmon under his chairmanship of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund.

He was awarded the Goldman Prize, which is the highest accolade one can achieve in environmental matters.

He spearheaded the Funds’ efforts to save the salmon from extinction by buying out commercial fishermen who were decimating stocks.

On a recent visit to Ireland Mr. Vigfússon (second from left) met (from left) Davey Stinson, Willie Mills and Davey’s son, Michael.

The three Fermanagh men are members of Pettigo and District Angling Association, which owns and leases the angling rights to part of the River Derg in South Donegal and West Tyrone.

Mr. Vigfússon was interested in the habitat problems which have been faced by the trout and salmon of the catchment and the ways in which members of the Association have tried to address these issues and attempted to restore the fish to their former abundance.

He said he was very impressed by the unique way in which the club had gone about trying to improve degraded habitat, restore free passage for migrating fish and overcome potentially detrimental land use changes which had affected the Derg system. He was equally enthusiastic about what he described as “the very worthwhile partnerships which the Association has developed with Loughs Agency, Queen’s University Belfast, Coillte, Forest Service, Strabane District Council, NPWS and NIEA, amongst others, to try to gather evidence and bring about meaningful sustainable growth, both to their own sport and the potential for tourist angling in the area”.

Mr. Vigfússon said he was pleased to see the high level of awareness of environmental issues among the members he met.

He said that the type of habitat restoration they were involved in could only be complementary to his own work in trying to ensure the cessation of commercial netting of salmon in the Foyle estuary.

The Pettigo and District Angling Association is affiliated to the Federation of Irish Salmon and Seatrout Anglers, who are founding members of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund and who organised Mr. Vigfússon’s visit to Ireland to explore the feasibility of a commercial nets buyout of the Foyle Fishery, of which the Derg is a tributary.

Mr. Vigfússon’s visit to Pettigo was co-ordinated by the Association’s secretary, Davy Stinson, from Boa Island.

He said: “It was an honour for the Association members to meet a man who has done as much to protect wild salmon as the iconic Mr. Vigfússon. We were delighted to spend some time with him, both hearing his views and having the opportunity to describe our own more localised conservation work and aspirations. This visit has greatly inspired us and will encourage the Association to continue with our evidence-based conservation efforts to rebuild wild salmon and trout populations in the Derg system.”