Product Description

Part odyssey, part pilgrimage, this epic personal narrative follows the author's exploration of coasts, islands, reefs, and the sea's abyssal depths. Scientist and fisherman Carl Safina takes readers on a global journey of discovery, probing for truth about the world's changing seas, deftly weaving adventure, science, and political analysis.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38733 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Amazon.com Review
The oceans of the world rank foremost among humankind's last great frontiers, and their climatological and ecological workings remain mysterious to all but specialists. In this lively, well-written survey, marine scientist Carl Safina encourages readers to take a wider interest in the oceans, especially because so much of that great blue expanse is now threatened by human progress. Safina notes, for example, that the North Atlantic's tuna population has fallen by more than 90 percent in just the last few decades. It has gone the way of cod and herring and pilot whales thanks to a combination of changing global temperatures, overfishing, pollution, inland watershed and delta destruction, and other causes--many of them attributable to human activities. Even now, he notes, many Pacific fishing fleets use cyanide to catch fish, a process that destroys sensitive marine ecosystems. Safina's tour of the world's waters may inspire readers to press for changes in the way that fish is brought to their tables, and to take a more careful look at the natural processes that govern this watery planet.

From Library Journal
Other than fishers and oceanographers, few people have taken note of the worldwide decline of fish populations. Sounding an alarm, Safina argues that we must extend a sense of biological community to ocean animals.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
A fact-finding tour of troubled waters. Marine scientist and first-time author Safina, founder of the Audubon Society's Living Oceans Program, ranges far afield to substantiate fears that something has gone badly wrong in the oceans. The fault, of course, lies with humans. A commission has determined, for instance, that the number of bluefin tuna in the north Atlantic has declined by 90 percent in recent years. Not every one agrees. ``Fishermen tell me,'' Safina adds, ``that the scientists grossly underestimate the numbers.'' Along the Grand Banks off Canada, the legendary great shoals of cod have been decimated, causing the government of Canada to suspend the once vast cod-fishing industry. On the Pacific coast, salmon are fast disappearing, the victims of silted rivers, dams, and overfishing. And far out in the Pacific, sharks and rays, swordfish and skates are declining in number. Safina visits all these places, giving little lectures on fish ecology along the way (readers might otherwise never have known that in water of 57 degrees Fahrenheit, a swordfish maintains a cranial temperature of 84 degrees). He allows that the decline of fish has multiple causes; as one of his informants, a California farmer, remarks, ``It's not just the farmers or fishermen. It is water transfers, ocean temperatures, toxic pollutants, timbering, all these things.'' On the matter of those toxic pollutants Safina has much to say: He is rightly appalled that in many Pacific nations fish are caught by poisoning the waters with cyanide, a process that kills not only the fish but also fragile coral reefs, among the world's most endangered ecosystems. Industrialized nations, he notes, and especially Japan, aren't doing much to help matters, arguing over quotas and territorial limits instead of recognizing that without severe restrictions on fishing the oceans may not be much of a larder in years to come. A valuable account of the devastation we have wrought on what Safina calls ``planet Ocean''--and, thanks to the author's down-to-earth style, a pleasure to read. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

One of the most important books of the 90s
I cannot, absolutely cannot, stress of how much import this book is. Safina writes of politics, poverty, economics, history, technical minutiae, and biological science with the flair of a poet - combined with passages that will make you weep for their ability to communicate the visceral experience of what it's like beneath the water. It's not just a book about marine biology - it's an extended essay on the forces that have shaped civilization at the end of the millennium and its relation to the world at large. The hardest thing is to get across how compulsively readable it is - digressions into issues involving privitization of land and the beuracratical nightmare of listing a species as endangered are communicated so lucidly, cleverly, and with such humanity that the book never devloves into that category called boring that would cause most people to skip it. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I wish everyone in that region would read Safina's exhaustive overview of the destruction of the salmon fisheries. Only now, later in life, do I have a clear picture of what those headlines I saw as a kid even meant.

And somewhere within all this, you discover that not only is Safina an objective scientist, an environmentalist who cares for the well being of other humans and is actually concerned for the plight of those who make their living off the seas; he is also a gifted writer.

I kid you not. This is a book about marine science. It made me bawl like a baby. It is, despite it's complex issues, so innately human. And that's what makes it essential. Safina is no tree hugging environmentalist - he appraises it with a keen eye for its beauty and its terror but is also a firece guardian - of the system which allows us to live with it. He has extraordinary empathy for those right minded individuals who have lost their jobs due to overfishing and the political nightmare that has followed. What provokes his anger is how that system is abused; and what emerges is that it is never a case of the usual solutions that pit conservationist vs. fisherman - it is a case of the entire economic situation we live in writ large that has led to our abuse of the oceans.

And despite the unrelenting nightmare you face during his journey, as it seems the whole ocean is vanishing before your eyes; there is hope, in the unlikeliest of places and his ability to essay that hope is miraculous and affirming.

Howard Hall, the legendary underwater photographer, said something like: if you were to start diving today you'd see a world you couldn't imagine... But it's nothing like what you would have seen only thirty years ago. I think any sceptic, or even the most hardened of political conservatives who believe the environment is designed to withstand relentless punishment, cannot disregard the arguements made in the book. I started diving only recently. I'm a young guy. Chances are I won't be able to ever see the great coral reefs of the South Pacific - they won't be there. This book will convince you that our children will not be able to experience the oceans and its life that we have still today; unless we change the essential underpinnings of how we relate to each other as a society we will not be able to restore this.

Enough ranting. Just get this book, read it, and try to tell me you weren't fascinated. This single book will change your worldview, and teach you in so many disciplines, that you can't ignore it. And please, some company publish this in the UK for the Brits pronto... Until then, Mr. Safina is my hero and I hope he writes more.

Entertaining Science
Is it a novel, a journey through the seas, or a scientific work describing the demise of fishes around the world while offering policy suggestions? It doesn't matter what kind of book it is- it may be all in one. What matters is that Carl Safina has written a book, Song for the Blue Ocean, which tells the story of living oceans; a book that catches your attention through adventure and interesting characters, witty writing, strong emotion, and terse opinions strewn amongst simple science.

In the preface, Safina mentions that he will be our guide and interpreter, but ultimately we have to make our own decisions regarding what the oceans and their inhabitants really mean to us. Nonetheless, I feel quite comfortable following Safina's lead. After receiving his doctorate in ecology and starting a career as an academic, Safina decided that he needed to take a stronger stand on conservation and scientific policy regarding the world's imperiled fish. He founded and now directs the National Audubon Society's Living Oceans Program, and wrote Song for the Blue Ocean merely 10 years after graduate school. Safina has a unique and open perspective on the state of the world's fishes, once as a commercial and sport fisherman, and now as a world-renowned scientist. Personally, I feel quite comfortable allowing Safina's guide and interpretations to influence my own opinions.

Song for the Blue Ocean is split into three distinct sections: the Northeast, the Northwest, and the Far Pacific. In addition, each section focuses on an imperiled species, namely the Giant Bluefin Tuna, pacific Salmon, and coral reefs; nonetheless, Safina is able to depict the bigger picture of the world's fisheries and common problems with these three examples. Not only does the reader get an inside look at fishing culture and the conservationist culture, but we also learn about the bigger picture of fisheries, i.e. externalities of fishing like by-catch, various fishing styles (from spear fishing to cyanide poisoning), the state of these fisheries, and the huge political aspects of fishing. Safina artfully intertwines information about national and international agencies involved in the conservation of fisheries, like CITES and the Endangered Species Act, without it sounding like a lecture. We learn about various species of sponges and coral reef fish, or the difference between steelhead trout and Chinook salmon, during the while we are enchanted by Safina's adventures floating down an icy Northwest river or almost dying of nitrogen narcosis while SCUBA diving 160 feet deep in the Palau islands.

The book flows very smoothly. Safina builds up the story, grasps ahold of your attention, and then leads you through the steps until he has made his point clear. For instance, Safina talks of the beautiful large and diverse trees in the Pacific Northwest, then introduces the concept of a snag- a tree that has died, but continues to stand upright for many years. Once it finally falls, hundreds of species move in, under, through, and around the fallen log. Finally, we understand that clear cutting and second growth forests near rivers do not provide adequate habitat for spawning salmon, which rely on the deep pool behind the fallen snag to deposit their eggs. All the while, this simple chain of events is presented in a very romantic and mysterious way, and it all seems so important. Safina also captures my attention with the conversations between the amazing characters in his book. They are funny, disturbing, happy, sad- they are martyrs, antagonists and clueless. They provide much of the information in the book, but they also provide relief from the continuous science and bleak outlook on the state of the fisheries.

Truthfully, there is not much about Song for the Blue Ocean that I did not enjoy, but Safina does tend to dwell on the past, with a few too many "back in the good old days" stories. This type of talk can be fun and contagious, nonetheless too much of this babble is unhelpful in the context of conservation. Similarly, Safina slips from time to time with sarcastic remarks. Some may find this witty, but I find it ineffective. Enjoyment of this book also depends on what your expectations are, some may find it too political, or others may not find it scientific enough. Safina approaches his journey with an open mind- and this is also the best way to approach his book.

Safina's unique perspective lends itself to an original story. He is a weary scientist in the middle of a debate over the state of the world's fisheries, who wants to discover the truth for himself. His journey takes him to all corners of the ocean, where he meets and listens to real people whose livelihood depends on the fish. His book therefore portrays all angles of the story, which allows the reader to form her own opinion (as Safina wanted). Safina does distinguish between fact and opinion on a regular basis; nonetheless he is not afraid to express his opinion, sometimes very strongly.

This book is for anyone- scientists and non-scientists. Young and old alike. People who want to learn more about the worlds imperiled fisheries will get their fill. Others who are mildly interested in fish, or fishing, or the world's oceans will be entertained. Even people who just pick up the book without any preface will find the writing, unique characters, and Safina's journeys across the Atlantic and Pacific extremely refreshing. This book really is all-in-one. Safina has mastered the art of hybridization, with perfect proportions of science, policy, and adventure.

Absolute poetry
I'm only about halfway through this book, but it's so moving that I decided I needed to rave now. Carl Safina uses an amazing grasp of language to paint mental pictures of what he writes about. I work in the scientific community and have spent a lot of time on that water, and his writings are not only objective and scientifically sound, he constructs them in such a way that they are beautiful. You will have a thirst for each topic and region of which he writes. I borrowed this book from the library and had vowed to buy it before I'd finished the first chapter. It has only improved as I've proceeded.