Plundered Seas - Softcover

Michael Berrill

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1550545477 ISBN 13: 9781550545470

Publisher: Douglas Mcintyre/see Pgw, 1997

Synopsis

Many environmentalists believe that the world's over-exploited and ailing oceans will soon replace tropical rain forests as the most pressing global ecological issue. With cogent analysis and specific suggestions for reform, THE PLUNDERED SEAS is a timely and important contribution to the search for solutions to this important worldwide problem.

About this title

Review

Biologist Michael Berrill thinks that overfishing will turn the oceans into the most important frontier of environmentalism in the 21st century. "We are obviously close to, and probably exceeding, the maximum global catch that is possible to sustain," he writes, showing that the total weight of the annual fish catch has quadrupled since 1950. The Plundered Seas occasionally veers toward the technocratic, with its descriptions of New Zealand fishing laws and the like, but it rarely dwells on such subjects for too long. The Plundered Seas is written for general readers who won't be put off by a bit of detail, and includes a few sly observations: "If there ever were a fish destined for extermination by humans, it must be salmon, for it tastes too good, it looks too good, and it swims right into the hands, or nets, of inshore and upriver fishers."

From Library Journal

The world's fisheries are plagued by overfishing, an unnecessarily large global fishing fleet, and the huge waste of discarded fish. Berrill (biology, Trent Univ., Ontario) analyzes the reasons for the increasing scarcity of fish and the repeated boom-and-bust cycles in the history of fisheries. He outlines basic fish biology and physiology, discusses the destruction of natural habitats through marine pollution, and traces the theoretical bases on which fisheries have estimated stocks and maximum sustainable yields. Illustrations and tables accompany the well-written text. The author sees hope for the future in the U.N. Law of the Sea (1994), which has resulted in a change in ocean ownership?36 percent of the sea is now enclosed and with it 90 percent of the exploitable fish stocks that are managed by each country. Less technical and more recent than D.H. Cushing's The Provident Sea, (Cambridge Univ., 1988), this volume will be useful to public and academic collections on conservation of ecological resources.?Judith Barnett, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib., Kingston
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Douglas Mcintyre/see Pgw
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 1550545477
• ISBN 13: 9781550545470
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272