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Customer Reviews (2)

professional reviews of Fish Conservation
The Quarterly Review of Biology called Fish Conservation "a much needed and timely book . . . an excellent melding of scientific rigor and scope, with readability and usefulness to nonspecialists."Biological Conservation says the book "tackles large and complex issues with ease but . . . has the rare gift of being simultaneously hugely informative, scientifically robust, easy to read and filled with conservation suggestions and hope."A review that will appear in the Journal of Fish Biology calls the book "an extremely competent scientific text" and recommends it"unreservedly for anyone with an interest in fish conservation whether they are scientists, administrators or students."A review in The Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Sciences said, "This is an exciting book written in a clear easy reading style. . . . Helfman has taken us where few have dared to go, because of the immensity of the biodiversity probems, yet has given us a book that will be of use . . .for years to come."

Student Review
A refreshingly easy-to-read text book. Gene Helfman's writing style challenges the reader to form their own opinion. The wealth of examples illustrate the major challenges facing fish conservation today.
This was the prescribed text for an undergraduate fish conservation course at Colorado State University (FW400). I present this review from a student's perspective, supported by survey results from my classmates.
I posed 4 questions and students rated the book on a 1 to 5 scale (1 = `not at all' to 5 = `very'). Average responses are presented.

1. Did you find the book easy to read and follow? 4.6
2. Did the book increase your understanding of fish conservation? 4.4
3. Do you consider the content up to date? 4.6
4. Was the book complementary to our course? 4.6
Overall rating 4.6

Helfman does an excellent job of tackling issues such as habitat loss, flow regulation, water quality and introduced species (Part III). The statistics are fascinating and compelling. "For freshwater fish, the principle cause of declines and extinction is habitat degradation". "[R]ates of imperilment of North American fishes, crayfish and mussels are three to eight times those for birds and mammals". These numbers are not thrown about without due consideration. Helfman provides a thought provoking review of how we classify imperilment at regional to global scales (Part II). Fisheries management, particularly harvest of marine fishes, is also dealt with in detail (Part IV).
The book is written from a North American perspective, but includes a wealth of case studies from across the globe. Chapter 3 reviews conservation policy of Australia, Canada, European Union, Japan, Madagascar, Mexico, New Zealand, Russian Federation, South America, South America, British Isles.
The book focuses on conservation of fish species - it is not a general guide to resource management. Some chapters focus heavily on freshwater fish and others on marine. Mostly, these reflect the relative importance of each issue in different environments. I managed to find one or two holes or oversights in areas where I have in-depth knowledge, but these were far outweighed by chapters that vastly expanded my understanding of a topic.
Our class did not rely on the book as the sole source of course material. Having said that, the range of issues dealt with by Helfman is probably beyond what could be covered in any one course. After course work is finished, the book provides excellent review material for unfamiliar topics. I'll be holding on to my copy.
... Read more

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Recent decades have witnessed strong declines in fish stocks around the globe, amid growing concerns about the impact of fisheries on marine and freshwater biodiversity. Fisheries biologists and managers are therefore increasingly asking about aspects of ecology, behavior, evolution and biodiversity that were traditionally studied by people working in very separate fields. This has highlighted the need to work more closely together, in order to help ensure future success both in management and conservation.

The Handbook of Fish Biology and Fisheries has been written by an international team of scientists and practitioners, to provide an overview of the biology of freshwater and marine fish species together with the science that supports fisheries management and conservation.

The first volume, subtitled Fish Biology, reviews a broad variety of topics from evolutionary relationships and global biogeography to physiology, recruitment, life histories, genetics, foraging, reproductive behavior and community ecology. Volume two, subtitled Fisheries, builds on the material from volume one, focusing on a wide range of topics including the history of fisheries science, methods of capture, marketing, economics, major models used in stock assessments and forecasting, ecosystem impacts, marine protected areas and conservation.

Together, these books present the state of the art in our understanding of fish biology and fisheries and will serve as valuable references for undergraduates and graduates looking for a comprehensive source on a wide variety of topics in fisheries science. They will also be useful to researchers who need up-to-date reviews of topics that impinge on their fields, and decision makers who need to appreciate the scientific background for management and conservation of aquatic ecosystems. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The best guide on Fishery Biology
These two volume sets are the best updated knowledge on Fishery biology studies.
A simple and coomprehensive language for all researchers.
It's a complete and essential tool for who work with this science. ... Read more

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The central message of the book is that stakeholder participation in the governance of fisheries is beneficial, but confers responsibilities as well as rights: all stakeholders have a public duty to act as stewards of the marine environment. With chapters by leading scholars and participants in fisheries governance, this book recounts contemporary techniques of public participation, and develops a new concept of environmental stewardship as a form of fisheries governance.

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Teleost fishes account for nearly half of all known vertebratespecies. They have representatives in virtually all aquatic systemsand an enormous variety in the ways they live. Moreover, teleostfishes support subsistence and commercial fisheries and aquaculturesystems throughout the world.
The second edition of this highly respected book retains the aims andstructure of the first edition, emphasizing the responses ofindividual fish to their environment and the consequences of theseresponses for the population and community to which the individualsbelong.
Fully updated and rewritten, this new edition of Ecology ofTeleost Fishes offers a thorough and integrated approach tothe area and is essential reading for all students of fish biology andecology, fisheries science and aquaculture. Fish biologists, fisheriesscientists, ecologists and researchers in fish population studies,genetics and aquaculture will also find this book to be an invaluablereference source. ... Read more

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This book deals with the bottom-living fishes of the world'slargest ecosystem, the deep-sea. After a brief review of theoceanographicsetting, the diversity and ecology of this uniqueichthyofauna areconsidered in detail. The book goes on to dealexplicitly with slopefisheries, both developed and developing. Theinteraction of theecology of the species involved (examples includeorange roughy,grenadier, Greenland halibut and black scabbardfish)with fishingpractices and management regimes is then discussed. Anecologicalframework for management is necessary for the resources tobesustainable it is argued, rather than simply extending approachesused on the Continental Shelf to the deep-sea. ... Read more

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Techniques and theory for processing otoliths from tropical marine fish have developed only recently due to an historic misconception that these organisms could not be aged. Otoliths are the most commonly used structures from which daily, seasonal or annual records of a fish’s environmental history are inferred, and are also used as indicators of migration patterns, home range, spatial distribution, stock structure and life history events. A large proportion of projects undertaken on tropical marine organisms involve removal and processing of calcified structures such as otoliths, statoliths or vertebrae to retrieve biological, biochemical or genetic information. Current techniques and principles have evolved rapidly and are under constant modification and these differ among laboratories, and more particularly among species and within life history stages.

Tropical fish otoliths: Information for assessment, management and ecology is a comprehensive description of the current status of knowledge about otoliths in the tropics. This book has contributions from leading experts in the field, encompassing a tropical perspective on daily and annual ageing in fish and invertebrates, microchemistry, interpreting otolith microstructure and using it to back-calculate life history events, and includes a treatise on the significance of validating periodicity in otoliths.

Customer Reviews (1)

Informative!
A great addition to a fish biologists book collection. Reviews various techniques vital for any specialist within the field. ... Read more

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Seamounts are ubiquitous undersea mountains rising from the ocean seafloor that do not reach the surface. There are likely many hundreds of thousands of seamounts, they are usually formed from volcanoes in the deep sea and are defined by oceanographers as independent features that rise to at least 0.5 km above the seafloor, although smaller features may have the same origin.

This book follows a logical progression from geological and physical processes, ecology, biology and biogeography, to exploitation, management and conservation concerns. In 21 Chapters written by 57 of the world's leading seamount experts, the book reviews all aspects of their geology, ecology, biology, exploitation, conservation and management. In Section I of this book, several detection and estimation techniques for tallying seamounts are reviewed, along with a history of seamount research.

This book represents a unique and fresh synthesis of knowledge of seamounts and their biota and is an essential reference work on the topic. It is an essential purchase for all fisheries scientists and managers, fish biologists, marine biologists and ecologists, environmental scientists, conservation biologists and oceanographers. It will also be of interest to members of fish and wildlife agencies and government departments covering conservation and management.

Supplementary material is available at: www.seamountsbook.info ... Read more

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This book provides a basic introduction to selective breeding in aquatic species, and describes the concepts behind establishing and running successful breeding programs. Although only 10% of world aquaculture production is currently based on genetically improved stocks, the dramatic gains achieved in species such as Atlantic salmon and tilapia serve to demonstrate the potential of selective breeding to improve growth, product quality, disease resistance and other commercially important traits. As increasing pressure is placed on feed, land and water resources, there is a growing need for such programs to be implemented on a large scale in aquaculture.

The major objective of this book is to introduce selective breeding to a wider audience, using results of numerous studies to show that the high fecundity and genetic variation in most aquatic species can lead to rapid and dramatic improvements. Building on well-established methods based on quantitative genetic theory, the key role that molecular genetics will play in the future of aquaculture breeding is also discussed.

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The state of the Northeast Atlantic fisheries in recent years has highlighted implementation as the Achilles heel of modern fisheries management: discards, unreported or misreported landings are in many cases recognised to effectively subvert sound conservation goals. Implementation is thus a key factor in avoiding fisheries crises. While social science literature on fisheries management has tended to regard the implementation of resource conservation policies as a question of effective enforcement, this book seeks to widen the perspective taken on implementation in fisheries management. The cases presented in this volume addresses legal, administrative, and political challenges regarding implementation of resource conservation policies. The book addresses problems relating to goal achievement, but also causes of deliberate change of political goals during implementation. Fisheries management systems are embedded in inert social structures and natural conditions that vary among different states. Consequently, the book takes a historical and comparative approach, describing the historical developments of national implementation systems and the conditions that shaped their development. It thus seeks to explain why national fisheries management systems have evolved differently, focusing on Norwegian, Faeroese, and EU/Danish management systems. The descriptive and explanatory outlines are accompanied by qualitative assessments of the systems effectiveness as tools for collective action.

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From the acclaimed eco-journalist Rick Carey, a fascinating chronicle of a fast-disappearing fish-and of the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on it

Since the days of the Persian Empire, caviar has trumpeted status, wealth, prestige, and sex appeal. In this remarkable journey to caviar's source, Carey immerses himself in the world of sturgeon, the fish that lays these golden eggs. The sturgeon has a fascinating biologic past-and a very uncertain future. Sturgeon populations worldwide have declined 70 percent in the last twenty years. Meanwhile the beluga sturgeon, producer of the most coveted caviar, has climbed to number four on the World Wildlife Fund's most-endangered species list.

A high-stakes cocktail of business, crime, diplomacy, technology, and the dilemmas of conservation, The Philosopher Fish is the epic story of a 250-million-year-old fish struggling to survive.

"A wild upstream adventure." (New York Post)

"Hard to imagine that a story about fish eggs could be 'fast paced,' not to mention prophetic. But this piece of environmental journalism is both.... It's a book about America in microcosm.... Caviar, it turns out, is not just tasty. In Carey's hands, it's luminous." (Kirkus Reviews) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Good read but focuses more on legal battles and less on the fish.
The Philosopher Fish is a well-written and entertaining look at sturgeon, sturgeon conservation and caviar. Gets a little too much into legal battles across borders and illegal caviar traffic, but still worth a read. I would give it 5 stars if it focused on the fish a little more.

Sexy & Insightful
I expected it to be a rather dry account, but the intro reels you in to the struggle of commercial fishing and regulation from a very personal perspective. Electric!

The Gilded Morsel
In THE PHILOSOPHER FISH, Richard Adams Carey has written an epic chronicle of the sturgeon--a fish species rapidly approaching extinction wherever it swims--as well as of its precious product, caviar. Selling for as much as one hundred dollars an ounce, caviar has become an icon of status and success, and as such, it has led to the inevitable decline of that curious and prehistoric fish: the sturgeon.

Carey exams both the fish as a species as well as the industry that seeks to exploit it. The fascinating and ancient phylogeny of the sturgeon notwithstanding, this fish is clearly in trouble. In the last two decades, sturgeon populations have shrunk to less than one third of what they were. Much of U.S. trade in caviar, as elsewhere, is illegal, but up until now, those who are working to save the sturgeon are largely ineffective. As in the drug trade, the potential rewards to be reaped by the caviar industry have led to energetic smuggling operations, the mislabeling of sturgeon species on caviar tins, as well as other shenanigans. Among the many storylines covered in THE PHILOSOPHER FISH, Carey follows the efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stymie the illegal trade in caviar, though as a result of 9/11, their resources have largely been diverted elsewhere.

Carey also follows several of the sturgeons' champions in this world as they seek to improve the fish's plight. There is some slight hope in the efforts of those that hatchery-spawn sturgeon species for aquacultural purposes and possibly for future restocking projects. In his search for every sturgeon-related experience he could find, Carey even ice-fishes for sturgeon in Lake Winnebago, one of the few places in the world where this can be done (strict quotas make the season as short as only 2 days a year), but he clearly feels conflicted about it (he didn't catch anything). He drinks vodka along the shores of the Volga River as he observes the trade, both legal and illegal, of the world's most famous caviar locales.

THE PHILOSOPHER FISH takes the reader around the world, from Sacramento to the shores of the Caspian Sea. Many of the stories involve intrigue and espionage of the highest order. Others are humorous or bitter-sweet. Still others offer hope. All are intensely interesting. I enjoy reading books that tell me more than I ever wanted to know about one circumscribed subject. THE PHILOSOPHER FISH is such a book, and I give it my highest recommendation.

Jeremy W. Forstadt

Sturgeon natural history is examined

The sturgeon has been associated with the luxury food caviar since the days of the Persian Empire, with both wealth and sex appeal associated to its ingestion over the centuries - but today it's a fast-vanishing fish, threatening to take with it the people who depend on it for a living. Sturgeon natural history is examined by Carey, who journeys around the world to uncover its habits, habitat, and those profiting from it. Anticipate more than a natural history alone though: international politics, economics, and world diplomacy are all deftly examined with the sturgeon at the heart of all issues.

The Food Of Gods...And the Rich.
Cavier is the choice of the rich.It is merely the sturgeon's eggs.Sturgeon populations have declined 70% in the last twenty years because of the gluttony of obese, wealthy connoiseurs of fish.It is now becoming a most-endured species.

Harvard grad Richard Carey informs us of the people both profiting from the cavier producing business and shows a high-stakes cocktail of business, crime, diplomacy, technology an dthe problems of conservation.As the public appetites gorw and more people now can afford this staple to their diets which was once a luxury, it soon may become extinct.

Fish has always been my favorite food since the days of cowboys movies around Market Square and the lunch at a diner, always fish.Being a Southerner, I love to eat catfish and hush puppies.Having no way to get to the specialty fish places in East Tennessee, I have to depend on Captain D's and Long John Silver's.Usually I go to the nearest, CD, but today I rode a long bus ride to rach LJS , and it was worth it.CD may produce a larger fish sandwich, but LJS tastes better.

Sturgeon was plentiful in the waters around the Persian Empire 250 million years ago.Today it has declined drastically in the Caspian Sea where it had survived against all odds.The large salaries of 2005 enable more gluttons to afford something which sells for $100 an ounce.It corresponds with sex appeal among the high and mighty.

The sturgean has seen more years when it first spawns than many fish see in a lifetime.In East Tennessee, the carp are enormous, and people don't have the rich tasts -- though you may find it at some of the gatherings of the social groups at KMA.

This was the pap of life, the milk of wonder as the food of the gods.They spawn only in rivers of a world without sin.Soon they will all die out, becaues some people don't practice restraint in their culinary desires.And there is no place on this earth without sin, and the presumptuous who think they know it all.Even though they certainly do not! ... Read more

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Despite their importance in terms of employment and incomegeneration, inshore fisheries have been a neglected area of study. Thereview of the common fisheries policy, especially in the light of theneed to re-examine the derogation which reserves access to the inshorezone to coastal state vessels, provides an opportunity to redress thebalance. With contributions from leading authorities on fisheriesmanagement, the book takes an in-depth look at seven Europeancountries, examining the basis for the definition of inshorefisheries, evaluating their status, and describing the salientcharacteristics of their management. The national studies form thebasis for cross-cultural analyses of the social organisation, culturalnorms, economic objectives, and institutional structures of inshorefisheries in Europe. Finally, a number of key issues relating to thefuture of inshore fisheries management in a more integrated approachare examined. Overall the volume reaffirms the invaluable role playedby inshore fisheries in the local and regional economies of Europe'scomplex coastline. ... Read more

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These volumes have, for over 30 years, been the most readily available source listing the scattered articles, theses, bulletins, and research on freshwater fish in the United States and Canada.

The Handbook of Freshwater Fishery Biology summarizes the available data on age, growth, length weight, fecundity, reproductive behavior feeding habits, and necessary environment for each freshwater species. The comparison of species is presented in a manner easily used by fishery mangers and biologists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Highly recommended
This is the third and final volume to the now classic Handbook of Freshwater Fishery Biology. The completed set compiles life history data and information on individual species of freshwater fish in the United States and Canada. In volume three, each chapter treats a particular species of fish. For example, the chapter on Yellow Perch is 54 pages in length. Detailed tabular data on the fish are provided concerning the length, weights, weight-length relationships, total lengths, condition factors, daily growth, lengths and weights at various ages, and number of eggs per female. In addition it compiles information from the literature on population density, food, feeding behavior, reproduction, mortality, population distribution and behavior, environmental factors, and more. The text serves as an index to the literature for each fish. The lengthy list of citations referenced in the text attests to the work the author completed in combing the fish literature, it is 84 pages in length.

The set is geared more to the professional ichthyologist and fish and game personnel. It has no illustrations in any of the volumes. Its strength is in the summary and tabular presentation of life history data gleaned from hundreds of journal articles, books, government reports, and unpublished data for each species of fish. This classic should be in every academic, state, and large public library and is essential in any ichthyology collection. Highly recommended. ... Read more

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Fisheries science in North America is changing in response to a changing climate, new technologies, an ecosystem approach to management and new thinking about the processes affecting stock and recruitment.

Authors of the 34 chapters review the science in their particular fields and use their experience to develop informed opinions about the future. Everyone associated with fish, fisheries and fisheries management will find material that will stimulate their thinking about the future. Readers will be impressed with the potential for new discoveries, but disturbed by how much needs to be done in fisheries science if we are to sustain North American fisheries in our changing climate. Officials that manage or fund fisheries science will appreciate the urgency for the new information needed for the stewardship of fish populations and their ecosystems. Research organizations may want to keep some extra copies for a future look back into the thoughts of a wide range of fisheries professionals. Fisheries science has been full of surprises with some of the surprises having major economic impacts. It is important to minimize these impacts as the demand for seafood increases and the complexities of fisheries management increase.

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The microcomputer revolution and the imperative to improvefishery management have accelerated the pace of technologicalinnovation and the application of new technologies to practicalfishery management problems. This volume was developed from asymposium held in February 2000, at which scientists working in alloceans of the planet presented research results from diverse marinespecies and habitats. The proceedings contain the results of researchintended to define critical habitat, to monitor behaviour andphysiology, and to synthesize tracking results into population models.This is the first synthesis of tagging and tracking methods used onmarine fish and documents the state of the art of modern electronictagging and tracking techniques. It will be the standard reference inthis field for years to come and will be consulted by researchersplanning to use these techniques in the future. Seasoned researchersas well as beginning graduate students will find this volumeindispensable. ... Read more

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This book provides a synthesis of taxonomic and ecological information on New Zealand’s freshwater fish fauna. New Zealand has been isolated in thesouthwestern Pacific Ocean since it separated from Gondwana during the Cretaceous period, some 80 million years ago. This prolonged geological isolation, combined with the islands’ very vigorous geological history, impacted by oceanic submergence, tectonic activity, mountain building extreme volcanism, and great climatic variability, create a dynamic scenario within which the New Zealand biota, including its freshwater fishes, have evolved over millions of years. These impacts have contributed to a highly dynamic biological history with undoubted though little understood extinction and vigorous colonisation of the islands’ fresh water. One of the key elements for understanding the origins and derivations of this fish fauna is that in all groups some or all of the species are diadromous, customarily spending a significant phase of their lives at sea. This has no doubt contributed in an important way the fauna’s origins As well, there has been frequent loss of diadromous behaviours leading, to species that have abandoned their sea-migratory behaviours and which now complete their entire lives in fresh water. The distribution patternsreflect these changinghabits, with diadromous species being broadly distributed but tending to be lowland in range, whereas the derived, non-diadromous species have narrower ranges, but are often found further inland and at high elevations. This book provides an ecological and historical synthesis of these divergent patterns across New Zealand’s geography and history. ... Read more

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Many of the processes influencing recruitment to an adult fishpopulation or entry into a fishery occur very early in life. Thevariations in life histories and behaviours of young fish and theselective processes operating on this variation ultimately determinethe identities and abundance of survivors.This important volumebrings together contributions from many of the world's leadingresearchers from the field of fish ecology. The book focuses on threemajor themes of pressing importance in the analysis of the role thatthe early life history of fishes plays in the number and quality ofrecruits: the selective processes at play in their early lifehistory; the contributions of early life history to the understandingof recruitment. ... Read more

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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (34)

Empty Ending
This book is actually a discussion of how commercial fishing is dangerously reducing the supply of fish.It follows a long and dangerous chase of a vessel thought to have been illegally fishing in Australian waters.Then, nothing comes of it.

What Are You Really Getting When You Order Fish??

The story in this book is multi-faceted, but all of the intertwined stories revolve around a deep sea monster known, in restaurants and fish stores, as "Chilean sea bass". The fish is, in reality, the Patagonian toothfish, which is a deep water, slow growing fish found in the southern oceans of the world. And in a little more than 2 decades, it has gone from being a species no one would eat to being one of the most expensive fish that can be ordered in any establishment.

The author weaves together the tale of an Australian fisheries enforcement vessel's attempt to stop a ship believe to have been fishing for toothfish illegally in Australian waters, the story of how the fish went from junk to gold in a short period of time and the problems of over fishing in our oceans. In addition, the author highlights what chefs are doing to aid in reducing the consumption of over fished species and what some countries are doing to stop poaching in waters around the world.

The book is extremely well written and the stories are really quite riveting. It is a book that is hard to put down and should be read by all who order or buy seafood. It will really make you think about what you are really getting before you order. And, that is a very important process that could help save the world's fisheries.

Hooked
I had to read this book for my Marine Biodiversity class, but I would recommend it for anyone. We as a culture are desperately ignorant of the issues concerning seafood and the fishing industry, and it will really open your eyes to the ecological, cultural, legal, and human aspects of this system of overexploitation. As the book says, "we're fishing our way down the food web," and we need to start reconsidering the effects overfishing is having on many ecosystems around the ocean. I would call it a "docu-novel," as it presents in a story format the historic chase of an Australian fisheries enforcement boat and a vessel suspected of illegally fishing their waters, using personal accounts and legal records of the events, and all quotes were actually remembered, written, or recorded by one of the people or vessels involved. It is easy reading, and gives well-thought out scientific and cultural backgrond information along the way to make it understandable even for people who have no background in the subjects being addressed.

Good for High School Readers, will make you think twice of ordering fish
The author G. Bruce Knecht broke the 100-year-old transatlantic race record on a yacht in 2005.He is a writer that has been published by the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times magazine.


This book is in my opinion is a very good, reading group book.The stories of Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish, is told very smoothly and flows very well.This is one of the qualities that make the book appealing to middle to high school readers.The way each page is written encourages the reader to continue to read more of the book.

I personally could not put the book down after just reading the first few pages, where it describes the way the Southern Supporter closes in on suspected fish poachers.It was a very addictive book from start to finish.

The book was great because the conflicts between man versus man and man versus nature were breathtakingly epic between the forces of man on one side and the forces of nature's frigid and icy seas trying to stop them on the other.The other major conflict was the pursuit between the boats, Viarsa and the Southern Supporter and their crews.

The author's purpose, to my understanding, was to inform readers about the human impact on the ocean's fisheries.It shows how overused these fisheries are and how irresponsible we are with our natural resources and what people are doing to stop that.It also shows how the Patagonian Tooth fish or Chilean Sea Bass as it is called came to popularity.

It also shows, how lacking of morals, today's people are, for driving a species of fish to the brink of extinction just to fatten their checkbooks.It also shows, how most of the time, they are shielded from justice by hiding behind extradition by living in other countries.

The goals are well achieved by a masterful telling of the background where the book takes place.It is said so well, that the reader might think he is being told a legend or a saga, not a real story from 2003.The details of the story make it seem like you were on the freezing deck of the ships.It also shows of how badly over fishing is when it interviews Daniel Pauly, a scientist about how the global fishing catch has gone down since the 1988.

Its main weakness was that the book didn't have an afterword where it says what the people did with lives after the second trial like in movies.Did Stephen and Codington continue in commanding the fisheries ship, Southern Supporter?Did Antonio Perez continue to fish?It says he said he would, but never says directly what ever happened to him.

THE WORLD'S FISH MARKET IN CRISIS
It's no secret that the world's fish market is in rapid decline.The 6.8 billion people who share our planet eat a lot of fish, consuming more than nature supplies in the world's oceans.In Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish, author G. Bruce Knecht tells a fascinating story about the illegal quest for a rapidly disappearing fish, and the frantic attempts of one nation to bring one fishing boat of poachers to justice.Knecht brings to light the enormous impact commercial fishing has on the world's fish population, and the complexity of attempts to regulate the careless emptying of the sea.

The reader is taken on a chase through Antarctica waters as Australian fisheries officials attempt to stop and bring to justice a boatload of rogue fisherman with holds filled with Patagonian toothfish taken in Australian fishing waters.The antagonists battle icebergs, gigantic frozen seas, and gale winds as they attempt to outmaneuver each other, both sides convinced of the merits of their position and unwilling to submit to the other.The pursuit is one of the longest ever recorded in maritime history, and in a frigid area of the world where even normal oceangoing operations are fraught with danger.

Knecht also introduces us to the Patagonia toothfish, known as Chilean Sea Bass in the world's restaurants, whose ocean population has been decimated by the public's voracious appetite for a different seafood dish.Suppliers have scrambled to fill chefs' increasing orders for a fish that brings big profits to restaurant owners and in doing so have created international chaos in the fishing industry.Who can fish where and for how many fish are never ending questions with unsatisfactory answers. So the Patagonia toothfish joins cod, salmon, tuna, swordfish and other desirable fish with less than 10 percent of the numbers that swam just 50 years ago.

This is a non-fiction book of many elements.It combines a crime story with a nautical theme, complete with innovative investigation, hot pursuit, and courtroom drama.If that's not enough excitement, the book takes a serious look at an international problem.Public and governmental inaction with regards to our oceans and their bounty does not bode well for future eating habits when we may be reduced to eating "jelly fish sandwiches" and "plankton soup" as Knecht quotes renowned researcher Daniel Pauly in Hooked.
... Read more