The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat

Book Description

Picking up where Cod left off, an "invaluable" (Financial Times) look at the global crisis of overfishing.

Gourmands and health-conscious consumers alike have fallen for fish; last year per capita consumption in the United States hit an all-time high. Packed with nutrients and naturally low in fat, fish is the last animal we can still eat in good conscience.

Or can we?

In this vivid, eye-opening book—first published in the UK to wide acclaim and now extensively revised for an American audience—environmental journalist Charles Clover argues that our passion for fish is unsustainable. Seventy-five percent of the world's fish stocks are now fully exploited or overfished; the most popular varieties risk extinction within the next few decades.

Clover trawls the globe for answers, from Tokyo's sumptuous fish market to the heart of New England's fishing industry. He joins hardy sailors on high-tech boats, interviews top chefs whose menu selections can influence the fate of entire species, and examines the ineffective organizations charged with regulating the world's fisheries. Along the way he argues that governments as well as consumers can take steps to reverse this disturbing trend before it's too late. The price of a mouth-watering fillet of Chilean sea bass may seem outrageous, but The End of the Line shows its real cost to the ecosystem is far greater.

Customer Reviews:

A must read for anyone who wants to know about the state of our world fishery resources.......2007-06-06

For those of you who are concerned about the state of our fisheries and declining fish populations worldwide, I would suggest a newly published book, "The End of the Line," by Charles Clover. As The Independent suggests, his book is "the maritime equivalent of Silent Spring." Clover takes the reader on an unbiased tour of many of the most important fisheries throughout the world from Africa to Iceland, offshore to nearshore. His appraisal and commentary of fishery management is candid and insightful. I highly recommend this book to anyone who finds themselves trying to contemplate the disequilibrium between fishery management and sustainability. The book ends with some positive examples of fishery management of which there are sadly too few, and he has some helpful tips for all of us to do our part to ensure fish stocks for the next generation.

Highly Informative... A Must-Read!.......2007-01-03

"The End of the Line" is a well-written, highly informative book which addresses a serious global issue.

"Imagine what people would say if a band of hunters strung a mile of net between two immense all-terrain vehicles and dragged it at speed across the plains of Africa.... left behind is a strangely bedraggled landscape resembling a harrowed field... this efficient but highly unselective way of killing animals is known as trawling... it is practiced the world over every day, from the Barents Sea in the Arctic to the shores of Antarctica and from the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean and the central Pacific to the temperate waters off Cape Cod."

Overfishing is a serious problem that must be addressed. The statistics are staggering. As journalist Charles Clover shows in his global exploration of the destruction caused by overfishing, we have inflicted a crisis on the oceans in a single human lifetime greater than any yet caused by pollution.

The rape of the oceans by commercial fishing.......2006-08-22

This is one of the most important books I've read. I have purchased several copies of this book to give away. It speaks up on behalf of those denizens of the oceans that we think should belong in cans and sandwiches or pies or curries, or pet food - yielding their flavoursome goodness of Omega 3 oils - with plenty more replenishing themselves without end. I did know in the back of my head that something was wrong when we put faceless tuna into cat food and no one discusses byecatch on a can except for a "Dolphin Friendly" logo. The appalling horror of millions of tonnes of these things being hoovered up with up to 50 to even 90% of the take being discarded back to the ocean because they are not the target species is spelled out in this book along with the moribund state of just how little we as a species care for the oceans or engage in managing its most vital food resources.

As usual much of the blame falls flatly at the feet of politicians and fishing interests as well as the consumers abject ignorance that advertisers and chefs have been milking and continue to milk. When the oceans belong to us all, to enjoy recreationally - they have become the preserve of fishing interests that continue to suppress so much biodiversity. This is a story of greed gone mad with absolutely no safeguards in place by the very people who are in charge of doing anything about it.

Japan and the EEC come out as some of the most environmentally tarnished political units - the madness of the EEC fishing policy is revealed in all its glorious folly.

Tuna and swordfish, the most magnificient bony fish in the sea get a special mention along with the poor critically endgangered mega sharks that are often bycatch in tuna catches.

This is such a powerful book speaking up for dumb fish that I will try and do everything in my power to at least highlight the problem to others. So well written in this with Chapter 14 showing us some fine solutions from New Zealand - that you ought to buy this book now and share it with any of your concerned friends.

Charles Clover from the London Daily Telegraph has done a fantastic job of highlighting our superpredatory theft from the seas.

If you love eating fish, you should buy this book!.......2006-07-26

It is a fascinating, very well written book on a subject most people forget about in spite of how important it is: the food resources of the sea. When I first saw the book I wondered how the author could make an interesting topic out of it...when I started to browse it, I discovered a great amount of information about the wonderful world of the seas, about what so many companies are doing to our resources, about the repercusions hardly anyone is aware of.
I bought it and read it immediately.
One of the best non-fiction books I have read in the last few years.

Manual of Fish Health: Everything You Need to Know About Aquarium Fish, Their Environment and Disease Prevention

Average customer rating:

Neat but can be better
If you have fish this book is a MUST HAVE
a MUST have for any budding or old hat Aquarist
For those who keep fish as pets
All aspects of health care for all types of fishes

Manual of Fish Health: Everything You Need to Know About Aquarium Fish, Their Environment and Disease Prevention
Chris Andrews , Adrian Exell , and Neville Carrington
Manufacturer: Firefly Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Fish & Aquariums | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1552978249

Book Description

A comprehensive guide for fish hobbyists.

A healthy environment is crucial for all aquariums. It is often a challenge to understand what fish need to survive apart from a tank of water and a daily sprinkle of fish food.

The Manual of Fish Health is a fully illustrated and highly informative guide covering:

Maintaining a healthy aquatic environment
Recognizing and coping with pests, diseases, parasites and bacteria
Water chemistry and how to achieve the correct balance for your fish

This book explores vital aspects of health care for all types of fish including freshwater and saltwater, tropical and temperate, and pond and aquarium.

The clear and concise text is abundantly illustrated with underwater photography, charts, and diagrams.

Customer Reviews:

Neat but can be better.......2006-03-21

I bought this book based on the great reviews here, and have not been disappointed. That said, there are a few deficiencies that drove me back to the web for more information and hence this review.

There is very little information about contemporary brands and their products that can be used to treat fish diseases. Using the book, one can easily diagnose pop-eye (which I was combating in my prize altum angels). But the suggestions are not terribly helpful in finding the right product to treat this affliction. For example, there are 3 or more different drugs under the Mardel brand that all claim to treat pop-eye. Some target gram-positive bacteria, some target gram-negative bacteria, and some are broad-spectrum antibiotics. At the same time, some can be simultaneouly administered with other treatments, some cannot. And so on. It would have been helpful if the book had helped me sort these details out (which I eventually did) and if it had suggested possible courses of action. Even something that lists all common antibiotics and adds a classification chart to go with them will address this concern.

And as one reviewer pointed out, some of the suggestions are beyond the scope of the hobbyist. But let this not detract you from purchasing a guide that will save you time and help you narrow your diagnosis.

If you have fish this book is a MUST HAVE.......2006-02-08

I have Aquarium books coming out of my ears. In my quest for knowledge on how to care and treat my freshwater fish, I have purchased books, but most left a lot of my questions unanswered, or were vague on discriptions of fish diseases and/or how to treat. This is by far the best all around book for the Aquarium Hobby enthusiast. It has everything you need to know about aquarium fish, their environment, disease and prevention. The pictures of diseased fish help you pin point the proper ailment, bacteria, and cure. I give this book 5+ stars and highly recommend it to anyone who has aquarium fish.

a MUST have for any budding or old hat Aquarist.......2004-10-25

This book is amazing! I absolutly recomend it to everyone I've talked to. Not only does it use casual scientific terms but it does also explain them for anyone that doesn't have a BSc. Great information not only on fish disease, but on maintaining a properly balanced aquarium & preventing diseases from occuring in the first place.

Personally I think it should be a manditory buy with ever first-fish purchase.

For those who keep fish as pets.......2004-06-28

The fish hobby is made up of two different types of people. Some hobbyists do not really bother to understand their fish, they simply buy replacements when the current ones die. The second type of fish-keeper wants to know as much information as he or she can on the types of fishes they keep. This book would be of most value to the second type.

Sometimes, we mistakenly assume that fish are fragile and that there is simply no way to maintain them at optimum health. But that is not the case. Most fish are quite hardy. They can easily be maintained in the home aquarium if attention is given to their particular needs. Even so, from time to time, our fishes do get sick despite of our care. This book will help you diagnose some of the more common diseases that afflict fishes, as well as some possible remedies.

Some of the procedures in the textbook are simply not feasible for the average aquarists. Most of us do not have access to a laboratory. However, there is enough solutions in the book that are easy enough to follow. I highly recommend this book.

All aspects of health care for all types of fishes.......2004-04-03

Dr. Chris Andrews, et.al.'s Manual Of Fish Health is a basic guide to providing a healthy aquarium environment and should be a part of any fish owner's home collection. It covers all aspects of health care for all types of fishes, both freshwater and marine, and cover pond as well as aquarium environments. Add plenty of charts and color photos and you have a truly comprehensive reference.

Twentieth-Century Shore-Station Whaling In Newfoundland And Labrador

Average customer rating:

Twentieth-Century Shore-Station Whaling In Newfoundland And Labrador
Anthony B. Dickinson , and Chesley W. Sanger
Manufacturer: McGill-Queen's University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0773528814

Ecosystem Responses to Mercury Contamination: Indicators of Change (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry)

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Ecosystem Responses to Mercury Contamination: Indicators of Change (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry)

Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0849388929

Book Description

As rising levels of mercury in the environment pose an increasing threat of toxicity to humans and wildlife, several laws already call for industries to reduce mercury emissions at the source. Ecosystem Responses to Mercury Contamination: Indicators of Change outlines the infrastructure and methods needed to measure, monitor, and regulate the concentration of mercury present in the environment. This book draws on the knowledge of forty international experts in the fields of atmospheric transport and deposition, mercury cycling in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and mercury bioaccumulation in aquatic foodwebs and wildlife. The authors propose a set of indicators to use as a measure of changing mercury concentrations in the environment. Next, they recommend a monitoring strategy and offer guidance for determining systematic changes in concentration. Then the authors examine additional monitoring strategies to relate observed changes in concentration to regulatory controls on mercury emissions. The final chapter provides an integrated framework for establishing a national-scale program to monitor mercury concentrations in the environment. Ecosystem Responses to Mercury Contamination: Indicators of Change contains the information needed to design a large-scale monitoring program for mercury and to use the concentration data to create, enforce, and evaluate the progress of initiatives aimed at reducing mercury emissions.

Ecological and Genetic Implications of Aquaculture Activities (Reviews: Methods and Technologies in Fish Biology and Fisheries) (Reviews: Methods and Technologies in Fish Biology and Fisheries)

Average customer rating:

Ecological and Genetic Implications of Aquaculture Activities (Reviews: Methods and Technologies in Fish Biology and Fisheries) (Reviews: Methods and Technologies in Fish Biology and Fisheries)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1402008848

Product Description

Aquaculture is a rapidly growing industry and aquaculture practices can directly interact with and depend upon the surrounding environment. Therefore, the effects of all types of aquaculture on living natural resources and ecosystems are of significant and increasing national and international interest. In Ecological and Genetic Implications of Aquaculture Activities, numerous nationally and internationally prominent aquaculture researchers contribute 27 chapters that comprise overviews of aquaculture effects on the environment, discussions of genetic considerations, thorough documentation of aquaculture effects and their solutions specific to countries, and approaches toward environmentally sustainable aquaculture. Together, these chapters comprise a comprehensive synthesis of many ecological and genetic problems implicated in the practice of aquaculture and of many proven, attempted, or postulated solutions to those problems. Many chapters can serve as benchmark documentations of specific aquaculture effects on biodiversity at different levels. The authorship is broadly international; the authors represent 18 different countries or international agencies and all continents except Antarctica. The aquaculture effects and their solutions range from local to global and simple to highly technical. Effects common to many levels and types of aquaculture emerge, as well as both common and unique solutions.

Aquaculturists, aquaculture researchers, aquaculture industry developers, conservation biologists, environmental scientists, resource managers, and policy makers should find this book interesting and informative.

Sea Ice: An Introduction to its Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology

Average customer rating:

Long overdue

Sea Ice: An Introduction to its Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology

Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Geophysics | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0632058080

Customer Reviews:

Long overdue.......2003-10-03

An international panel of contributors give us an overview of the present situation in sea ice research. It covers the physical and chemical properties of sea ice and its role in the global climate. A large part of the book is given to the imoprtance of sea ice in marine biology. That is an area long overlooked by textbooks.

Success with Cichlids from Lake Malawi & Tanganyika

Average customer rating:

Success with Cichlids from Lake Malawi
Beautiful Pictures!
Excellent book for new african cichlidists!
Not Much Success With CICHLIDS !
A moment from our sponsor(s)

Success with Cichlids from Lake Malawi & Tanganyika
Sabine Melke
Manufacturer: TFH Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Reptiles & Amphibians | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

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Lakes & Ponds | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0866224890

Customer Reviews:

Success with Cichlids from Lake Malawi .......2006-12-25

This book has some good photos and provides a light overview for people that are new to the hobby. However, if you are new to aquariums you should not try to care for these fish. For anyone experienced this book doesn't provide much useful information. I was trying to get information on breeding African Cichlids and this book provided no useful information that subject.

Beautiful Pictures!.......2006-06-20

I just want to leave a notation for all who get this book. BE CAREFUL OPENING PAGES! The photos on each page are actually on photographic paper! This makes each photo excellent in detail and color, but this book needs to have pages turned with the care of a photo album, and not the casual nature of a book.

Excellent book for new african cichlidists!.......2003-05-15

Despite all the other bad reviews I think this is a great book to dive into African Cichlids. I have owned an aquarium maintenance service for years and have had only one african cichild tank. I bought a bunch of them and threw them all in a 55 gallon tank. It looked great until the fish grew up. After a year or so I only had a couple fish left, most killed by a large pseudotrophus sp. This book explained why and I was finally able to understand these fish. The book goes into species compatibility and their social behavior and explains why you mix certain species, male/female ratios, numbers of each species required, size of tank and how to keep aggressive ones. I feel the topic is so vast with over 1500 species that no one book can cover everything. I'm finding the most difficult part of African Cichlids is the scientific names - some are very difficult to say much less knowing which ones you can house together! If you have had aquariums in the past and know nothing about African Cichlids I would recommend this as your first book! It really informs the reader of the broad overview of what you are getting into and the problems associated with it. It leaves you informed and, if interested, wanting to buy another book or two, specifically one with photos of all the species like Pablo Tepoot's "Pictoral Guide".

Not Much Success With CICHLIDS !.......2002-11-17

More time is spent on discussing basic aquarium set-up and care, than on Malawi Cichlids. Must have had commercial sponsers, they are mentioned throughout. Other than a beginner at cichlids, nothing much new to be learned. Scientific names are outdated, but in the fast changing world of Malawi Cichlids that's not surprising. Better be up on your metric system, there's not an inch, foot, yard, pound or gallon in the book!

A moment from our sponsor(s).......2001-09-10

I felt as though I was reading an info mercial. While it is nice to have info on product availability it was more than I wanted to sort through. I also found it not well organized. Cichlid identification for the purpose of appropriate care and breeding is daunting enough without adding more confusion.

Assessing the Hazard of Metals and Inorganic Metal Substances in Aquatic and Terrestrial Systems

Average customer rating:

Assessing the Hazard of Metals and Inorganic Metal Substances in Aquatic and Terrestrial Systems

Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1420044400

Book Description

Current procedures used for hazard identification and classification are based on persistence, bioaccumulation, and toxicity measurements. Assessing the Hazard of Metals and Inorganic Metal Substances in Aquatic and Terrestrial Systems provides the basis for improvements to the current model for hazard assessment. The book reviews the scientific underpinnings of the use of persistence as applied to metals, including bioavailability, and the use of bioaccumulation to evaluate aquatic species and aquatic-linked food chains. It also examines toxicity procedures as used within PBT approaches and measurements for metals in terrestrial ecosystems. The book brings together a multidisciplinary and international group of scientists, managers, and policy makers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States to discuss various means for assessing the environmental hazard posed by metals and inorganic metal substances. The contributors include representatives from regulatory and nonregulatory government agencies, academia, industry, environmental groups, and consulting firms involved in assessment, management, and basic research of metals and metal substances. They provide a focused discussion of the fate and effects of metals in the environment, incorporating important advances developed over the past decade.

Average customer rating:

Dolphins and the Tuna Industry
National Research Council
Manufacturer: National Academy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0309047358

Geostatistics for Estimating Fish Abundance

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Geostatistics for Estimating Fish Abundance
J. Rivoirard , J. Simmonds , K. G. Foote , P. Fernandes , and N. Bez
Manufacturer: Blackwell Publishing Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0632054441

Book Description

Recently, geostatistics has been applied to fishery science and consequently new developments have been required to extend and validate their application. This important book describes the fundamentals of geostatistics and how they are applied to fisheries survey data for fish stock assessment. Geostatistics is a tool that will be invaluable for all those involved in fisheries research.

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