 He stood as a candidate for Parliament on behalf of the Progressive Greens in 1996 and the New Zealand National Party in the 2002 election.Salmon is the son of John Tenison Salmon, who was a noted entomologist and professor of zoology at Victoria University of Wellington, and Pamela Naomi Salmon (née Wilton).In 1990, he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.