Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #112990 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-30
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 456 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Marine conservation biologist Roberts presents a devastating account of the effects of fishing on the sea. Once abundant aquatic life has declined to the point where we probably have less than five percent of the total mass of fish that once swam in Europe's seas, he states. Intensive fishing since medieval times has caused this decline gradually over the centuries, so that the fish-deprived sea seems normal to today's generations. Industrial fishing, especially trawling, has virtually eliminated entire habitats, including cod in Canada, oysters in Chesapeake Bay and herring in the North Sea. Now, sophisticated devices such as sonar depth sensors are being used to plunder that last frontier, the deep sea. Callum's alarming conclusion is that by the year 2048, fisheries for all the fish and shellfish species we exploit today will have collapsed. He argues persuasively for the establishment of marine reserves—protected areas where fish stocks have a chance to recover. His impressive book, replete with quotations from the reports of early explorers, merchants and travelers describing seas teeming with life that's unimaginable today, is a vivid reminder of what we've lost and a plea to save what is left and help the sea recover some of its earlier bounty. Illus. not seen by PW. (Aug. 15)
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From Booklist
Starting with the eighteenth-century voyages of Vitus Bering, Roberts leads the reader through a wealth of maritime history revealing countless examples of overfishing. By quoting everyone from naturalist Georg Steller to western writer and trophy fisherman Zane Gray and swordfish boat captain and author Lynda Greenlaw, he covers a wide range of perspectives from those who know the seas better than most. The overwhelming message is that profitability and sustainability are no longer compatible and hard choices must now be made. Roberts is eloquent and persuasive as he recounts centuries of ill-managed fishery planning, and allows those who have directly experienced dramatic changes in the oceans to speak for themselves. He offers both indictments and solutions in a straight-ahead book illustrated with historical photographs and drawings that should appeal equally to armchair enthusiasts, maritime aficionados, and scientists. Thoughtful, inspiring, devastating, and powerful, Roberts' comprehensive, welcoming, and compelling approach to an urgent subject conveys large problems in a succinct and involving manner. Readers won't be able to put it down. Mondor, Colleen

Review
As Roberts makes plain, the history of fishing -- commercial fishing primarily and most flagrantly, but many instances of sport fishing as well -- is one of human selfishness persistently outracing attempts to bring it under control, to mandate restraint. And yet, though the evidence of exploitation and destruction is damning, this book is not "a requiem for the sea." A marine biologist at the University of York in England, Roberts is an optimist about the future, so long as that future includes national and international networks of protected areas and simple fishing reforms. Unfortunately, though, the very history that Roberts recounts suggests that attitudes will be difficult if not impossible to change.
That history begins in the 11th century with a revolution in England and Europe. Fishers turned to the sea, [which] was quickly seized upon as a principal source of food and its exploitation began at once. As methods for preserving and transporting fish steadily improved -- and as coastal fishing grounds were rapidly decimated [they] moved ever farther away from home
"There is a common theme in European expansion and exploitation of the sea. First, the explorers ... set sail for God, country, fame, and wealth... [A] second wave financed by merchant adventurers in pursuit of profit. ...As well as the animals slaughtered for commercial ends, sailors and travelers had major impacts on the fauna of islands and the sea, butchering millions of animals for provisions."
Against this gloomy backdrop, Roberts finds more than faint cause for hope. Progress has been made in reducing pollution of the coasts and oceans. Marine reserves -- "places that are protected from all fishing" -- have had notable success in giving endangered species breathing room, but only .006 percent of the ocean is thus protected... I am haunted by this passage:
"Perhaps geologists feel saddened by the loss of some remarkable gypsum formation rendered to dust for plasterboard. I don't know. But I certainly feel anguish on seeing coral glades leveled. It hurts to know we are losing species whose forms have never been described and perhaps have never been seen by people. They have shared our planet for countless millennia, living undisturbed lives deep in the sea. Extinction, the irrevocable loss of a species, causes pain that can never find relief. It is an ache that will pass from generation to generation for the rest of human history."
It is also nothing less than a global catastrophe, about which Callum Roberts has issued a powerful, galvanizing call to arms. --Washington Post

Customer Reviews

Eye-opening illustration of fisheries
This is an eye-opening, informative look at the history of the world's fisheries throughout time. From early fisheries in Europe, to the discovery of virgin seas around the world, this book gives a detailed and interesting look at fishing practices including long line fishing, trapping, and trawling. The startling decline of the world's fisheries is discussed with much detail including many examples which were somewhat repetitive. The author also gives hope of reestablishing healthy fisheries by citing many recent changes in nation's policies regarding fishing. This is a well written book that reflects the author's efforts and research. It was written to educate people on the conditions of the oceans. The author also gives a refreshing look at conservation by not simply criticizing the state of the oceans, but by providing a plan that may help reverse the effects of hundreds of years of over-fishing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in gaining a greater understanding of the history of the world's fisheries.

Impressive, comprehensive but DRY
This is a MUST READ if you are interested in the ocean environment. This book is staggeringly comprehensive in its coverage of the many centuries of fishing as they developed and how they resulted in the ocean destruction that exists today.

Unfortunately it was, to me, so verrrryyyy dry that I really had to work hard to finish. If you like endless excerpts from the old salts journals (with old language styles and the accompanying mispellings), you may have a more favorable reaction.

The facts and statistics of over-fishing will blow you away! It should serve as a clarion call for us to get busy and take measures to focus some attention on this critical ocean world.

Worth the time.
Too good. Eye opening. Easy to read. It will be kept in my library for references. I learned so much about our oceans and mankind.