Book Description

Because of their exposure in marine parks, movies, and television as well as their presence in tropical and warm-temperature waters around the world, bottlenose dolphins are among the most familiar of marine mammals. Since they are relatively easy to obtain and they thrive in captivity, these dolphins have been used in a great variety of studies. Work with the bottlenose has provided insight into the sensory mechanisms, communication systems, energetics, reproduction, anatomy, and other aspects of cetacean biology. This volume presents the most recent biological and behavioral discoveries of bottlenose dolphins from different regions and compares bottlenose dolphins as a group with other species of animals. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Dolphin Research
This is an extroidinary book in that it is a compilation by accomplished authors about a subject that is fascinating to all. It is based on scientific data and not the sensationalism that surrounds this animal. This is probably the most studied and revered of the marine mammals. I consider the strengths of the book to be its coverage of behavior in the wild, neurology and cognition. Its weaknesses really are in the area of cardiovascular anatomy and physiology. Overall, it remains a work that should be on the shelf of all interested in a true look at the biology and behavior of this obviously remarkable creature and wholeheartedly recomend it. If you are looking for details on cardiovascular physiology, including regulation of temperature such as countercurrent heat exchange mechanisms, you will probably not find it here. ... Read more

Book Description

Fishing the Great Lakes is a sweeping history of the destruction of the once-abundant fisheries of the great "inland seas" that lie between the United States and Canada. Though lake trout, whitefish, freshwater herring, and sturgeon were still teeming as late as 1850, Margaret Bogue documents here how overfishing, pollution, political squabbling, poor public policies, and commercial exploitation combined to damage the fish populations even before the voracious sea lamprey invaded the lakes and decimated the lake trout population in the 1940s.From the earliest records of fishing by native peoples, through the era of European exploration and settlement, to the growth and collapse of the commercial fishing industry, Fishing the Great Lakes traces the changing relationships between the fish resources and the people of the Great Lakes region. Bogue focuses in particular on the period from 1783, when Great Britain and the United States first politically severed the geographic unity of the Great Lakes, through 1933, when the commercial fishing industry had passed from its heyday in the late nineteenth century into very serious decline. She shows how fishermen, entrepreneurial fish dealers, the monopolistic A. Booth and Company (which distributed and marketed much of the Great Lakes catch), and policy makers at all levels of government played their parts in the debacle. So, too, did underfunded scientists and early conservationists unable to spark the interest of an indifferent public. Concern with the quality of lake habitat and the abundance of fish increasingly took a backseat to the interests of agriculture, lumbering, mining, commerce, manufacturing, and urban development in the Great Lakes region. Offering more than a regional history, Bogue also places the problems of Great Lakes fishing in the context of past and current worldwide fishery concerns. "The discovery, exploitation, and destruction of the Great Lakes fisheries is an important story that should be told, and Margaret Bogue is the first to tell it from such a broad historical, geographic, and environmental perspective. The great strength of Fishing the Great Lakes is the very extensive historical evidence drawn from American and Canadian archives."-Stephen Bocking, Trent University, Ontario, author of Ecologists and Environmental Politics"Bogue addresses a problem that has caught the attention of no other historian, despite its very basic interest to both the United States and Canada. This book fills a huge void in our understanding of the fisheries of the Great Lakes."-Kurk Dorsey, University of New Hampshire, author of The Dawn of Conservation Diplomacy ... Read more

Book Description

With its spectacular beaches and charming towns, Cape Cod is known around the world as a vacation spot and a summer retreat for the well-to-do. But there is another Cape Cod, a hidden, hardscrabble, year-round world whose hunter-gatherer economy dates back to the Bay Colony. The world of the independent fisherman is one of constant peril, of arcane folkways and expert knowledge, of calculated risk and self-reliance -- and of freedom won daily through backbreaking, solitary work. It is a way of life deep in the American grain.Haunted by the numbers of family fishermen who have recently been forced to abandon the profession, Richard Adams Carey spent a year among a handful of men who stubbornly refuse to do so. Reminiscent of the work of William Warner and Joseph Mitchell, AGAINST THE TIDE is a masterly profile of four New England fishermen in which every page opens onto something more profound: maritime history, maritime ecology, and the poetic celebration of a special American place. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Is Book Burning Illegal?
This is going to be short. After having read "Living On The Edge" I thought I was getting another tale of life as a fisherman.Instead, what I got was life as a fisherman at town council meetings. The book is currently being used under the short leg of my pool table. ...

Better subtitle "Death of the New England Fisherman"?
Being a New England fisherman (hehe-rather, woman) I found the day-to-day lives of the fisherman very interesting-who knew scallops had blue eyes? However, I had a difficult time following the time frame of events because of the way Mr. Carey jumped around. I couldn't even tell exactly what year this book was taking place without some re-reading. The politics involved are sickening in the amount of time wasted and the fact that the committees could get nothing accomplished, evidenced with the ongoing cod crisis in New England today. Too bad none of the politicians involved happened to read this book.

An excellent inside look at the Commercial Fishing Industry.
If you read The Perfect Storm and came away wanting to know more about the commercial fishing industry, this is the book. Carey explains the views of the men and women who risk life, limb, and fortune in the waters off Cape Cod. He also explains the tedium of public hearings and governmental rule making which impact the lives of the fishermen.

I spent the summer in a rented house overlooking the commercial fishing fleet in Bodega Bay, California. I often wondered what happened on those boats once they left the harbor, and what regulations governed them. Against the Tide explains it all.

By way of criticism, I found the characters a bit hard to follow and the discussions of the regulations a bit tedious, but overall I learned a lot.

An enlightening look at a fading industry.
Richard Adams Carey has crafted a detailed look at a failing industry and a very well written narrative. One can only hope that present and future fishermen and politicians, American and Internationally, read Mr. Carey's book and learn from the mistakes of the past. The book brings you into the daily lives of New England fishermen in an honest, pragmatic way that doesn't decry the sins of history but certainly lays them bare for all of us to learn from. The author has carefully crafted and documented his first hand accounts, and recreates other aspects in a highly readable and informative style. If you're sick of Wall Street success stories, here's an in depth look at the lives of many equally important but far less appreciated Americans.

Excellent + Accurate account of todays small boat fishermen.
I've been involved with the local fisheries all my life, and this author has been the closest (so far), to the reality on the "on goings" of the lives effected by the sea. Ranging from the challanges at sea, to the dealings with "managment". I suggest this book to anyone who wants an close insight of this type of livelyhood. Especially any student entering the fisheries profession!! ENJOY!! ... Read more

Book Description

The second edition of a bestseller, The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem continues to provide a wealth of information on the entire ecosystem of the Everglades. With an emphasis on natural history, the text is unified around themes of biogeography and ecosystem functions of the plant and animal communities. It presents current and historical geology, discussions of human impacts, ecosystem degradation, planned restoration, and covers the socioeconomic aspects of the Everglades ecosystem. The successful style of the first edition has been maintained with significant updating related to Everglades restoration initiatives and new chapters covering Big Cypress Swamp and Lake Okeechobee.INV STAT: Not yet published ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive, one-stop reference to the science, technology, and economics of aquaculture Technological advances, coupled with the mounting pressures of global food production, have dramatically changed aquaculture in recent decades. And while there has been an explosion of books and articles on its different facets, none of these provide a single comprehensive reference to this evolving and fascinating field. With an emphasis on current trends and sustainable practices, the Encyclopedia of Aquaculture presents complete A-to-Z coverage for a multitude of scientific, technical, and economic topics encompassed by the discipline. From abalone to zooplankton culture, over 150 timely and authoritative entries explore such areas as:
* Primary species being cultured worldwide, as well as species under development
* Echinoderms, molluscs, crustaceans, and finfishes
* Aquaculture for food, research, bait, aquariums, and endangered species recovery
* Management techniques for water and feed quality as well as disease control
* Different aquaculture systems-from pond production to marine net-pens
* Environmental issues and the economic feasibility of closed and offshore systems
* Business plans, marketing, and sales
Complete with photographs, illustrations, and graphs as well as references to the extensive literature, the Encyclopedia of Aquaculture is a handy, easily accessible resource for scientists and professionals in aquaculture as well as individuals wishing to expand their knowledge of the field. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

What you need for aquaculture!
This new encyclopedia shows in a brief and interssting way, all issues related to aquaculture. The contents are explained in some way, that even a non-experience person, can be able to understand the technicisms. It is anecessary tool to have. ... Read more

Book Description

Sharks and their relatives are* the subjects of tremendous interest. The public's fascination is influenced by their roles in movies and popular literature, while the media races to cover stories of predators endangering helpless humans. The alarming threat to shark populations is also garnering significant publicity and leading to a worldwide increase in conservation initiatives. Finally, technological advances are impacting every area of shark research and revealing incredible secrets about these mysterious animals. These major factors indicate the need for a timely synthesis of the biology of sharks and their relatives.Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives brings together the latest information on the phylogeny, physiology, behavior, and ecology of sharks and their relatives, the skates, rays, and chimaeras. Written by a "Who's Who" lineup in North American elasmobranch research, this single-source review of elasmobranch fishes presents cohesive and integrated coverage of key topics and discusses technological advances used in modern shark research. The text establishes relationships among the sharks and their relatives that dominate the Chondrichthyes, describes their functions and physiological processes, and examines issues relevant to managing depleted and threatened fisheries. Each of the 19 chapters includes a comprehensive review of the subject with extensive up-to-date citations.This authoritative book provides a synopsis of the current understanding of elasmobranch fishes while identifying gaps in our knowledge to stimulate further study. Its broad coverage and inclusive nature make this an important resource for marine and conservation biologists, fishery scientists, biological oceanographers, zoologists, ecologists, environmental planners, and students. ... Read more

Book Description

Originally published by the Bureau of Fisheries of the U. S. Department of Commerce in 1922, this may be the only book ever published on the operation of commercial aquariums.At the time of original publication the author, Charles Haskins Townsend was Director of the New York Aquarium.

The writer has had long experience in the management of the aquarium in New York City and has assisted in planning certain aquariums already built as well as others projected.He was connected with the National Commission of Fisheries during the period when that organization maintained temporary aquariums at the great industrial exhibitions held in this country and observed some of them in operation.Millions of people saw those aquariums of the past, while other millions enjoy the few that exist here at present.

Having supplied information recently to a score of cities that contemplate constructing aquariums, the writer has felt it incumbent upon him to set forth the essentials of the matter for the guidance of an increasing number of inquirers.The present discussion is based largely on the methods of the large aquarium in New York City, which has been in operation for 30 years and is now undergoing extensive modernization. ... Read more

Book Description

Finfish is the least costly animal protein to produce and is the primary source of protein in most developing countries. In recent years the catch-fish industry has declined significantly, and cage culture is now widely used to raise both warm and cold water fish. Due to the close proximity of other fish, aquatic organisms, pollutants and water borne pathogens, cage culture fish are especially susceptible to disease. This book is a practical and authoritative reference to infectious and noninfectious diseases of cold and warm water finfish in cage culture. It is designed for acquaculturists who use cage culture, and also for fish health consultants, fish pathologists, and researchers in diagnostic laboratories. ... Read more

Book Description

Conflicts over both the access to and use of natural resources have become increasingly common throughtout the world.These conflicts are often very difficult to resolve because they typically involve a plethora of issues and numerous claimants while the state seldom intervenes effectively. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

appreciated this book
i did not realize that this book would contain such a wealth of information. the title is misleading, because the contents include very extensive scholarly research , written in easily understandable and entertaining prose.
You are shown a huge trove of information regarding sharks, the various types, their feeding habits, how they mate, where they travel,where to see them underwater, popular myths, how to fish for them, the dangers and pleasures of diving etc etc
I recommend this book to those who have any curiosity about sharks. You can learn the real facts, and a vast amount of information-in fact,sibly more than you ever wanted to know.
The only thing missing is recipes. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Salmon Country Revisited
Salmon Country Revisited

Salmon Country is a good overview of the natural phenomena of the pacific salmon, how it is related to our culture in the Pacific Northwest and the consequence of our lax terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem management that has lead to declines in salmon populations and extinction of some salmon races. I would like to have seen Busch give more than a very brief mention to the major accomplishments of the of the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission from 1937 to 1985. Formed as a joint effort between Canada and the USA in 1937, the Commission was charged with, among other things, restoring the sockeye salmon runs on the Fraser River in British Columbia. This was accomplished through the construction of fishways principally at Hells Gate on the Fraser (later at other locations where flow restrictions occurred), regulation of commercial salmon catches, and a research program to understand the population biology of the various stocks of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River watershed. Fish hatcheries were not a part of that program (a misstatement by Busch, p.99, first sentence) in contrast to programs
developed in the US that depended heavily on hatchery produced salmon. That the Commission's programs were a success is seen in the fact that runs increased from a low of 1.6 to 3.3 million sockeye in the period of 1917 to 1949 to an average of 10.2 million sockeye from 1983 to 1986. Busch and his book would have benefited from reading John Roos' publication "Restoring Fraser River Salmon" published by the Pacific Salmon Commission, Vancouver, Canada, 1991. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Extremely readable book
Dr Alongi has produced an excellent book again. Although the book is aimed at university level the ordinary laymen should understand the basic principles. The book looks at the intricacies of food webs found in mangroves, sandy beaches and other coastal habitats. I particularly liked the section that dealt with coral reefs and the interaction of the corals with algae. It gave a clear understanding about a very complex issue. The book has 740 references, an excellent index and is well worth the money. I wholly recommend it. ... Read more

Book Description

Alien species invade aquatic ecosystems through both intentional and accidental means. The voluntary introduction, if performed at all, is usually monitored by professionals who have made a risk assessment.Accidental incursion is more difficult to control and poses a potentially grave threat if left unchecked or undetected.Nonindigenous Fresh Water Organisms focuses on this infringement in North American aquatic ecosystems. The 31 chapters measure the devastating ecological, and sometimes economic, impact caused by the encroachment of immigrant species. The book includes case studies such as the Zebra mussel, which arrived in the Laurentian Great Lakes via the ballast of a foreign ship. There is a section for each pathway of introduction, which includes a chapter devoted to its North American history and an analysis of the potential harm caused by further intrusion. The final portion of the book is devoted to a prediction methodology for the success or failure of an introduction. The chapter on risk assessmentis especially useful for the planning of a voluntary introduction. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good Read
I gave this book a good Flip-through and really enjoyed it.It gives a good prespective on the ecological problems our fresh waters encounter.I especially enjoyed the parts dealing with the Great Lakes,because I live near them.Why not check it out?

Good Book
My Grandfather Is JH Leach (the editor of this book) , He gave me a copy of the book and I loved it. It's very good and I reccommend It. YA! ... Read more

Book Description

For centuries the hunting of the whale was what defined the Makah, a Native American tribe in Neah Bay, but when commercial whaling drove the gray whale to near extinction in the 1920s, the Makah voluntarily discontinued their tradition and hung up their harpoons. In 1994, after the gray whale was taken off the endangered species list, the Makah decided to hunt again. The problem was that all the old whalers were dead -- no one knew how to go about hunting a whale.

A Whale Hunt chronicles the two years Robert Sullivan spends with the Makah as they prepare for and stage the first hunt. Combating tribal infighting and inexperience, they must also face passionate, furious animal rights activists and swarming reporters. Before the ragtag group of hunters even pursues a whale, there are clashes, disappointments, and defeats, small triumphs and unexpected heroes.

A book of many layers and revelations, A Whale Hunt is the story of the demise and attempted resurrection of a Native American nation and of the individuals on the reservation whose lives are forever changed. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

The Makah and the Whale
This is an interesting book, and Sullivan does his best to present pro-hunt and anti-hunt views objectively (though I agree his sympathies lie with the Makah, as mine did).

However, the book needed a stronger editor:

1. The book is a bit rambling, as if it were written largely verbatim from notes or a journal, and he couldn't bear not to use any of them; we just don't need to know the minutia like the fact that Sullivan put his daughter's car seat in the trunk in order to give two people a ride (his daughter, his car, the car seat, etc., play *no part* in the story's narrative - this is just filler).

2. In addition to the errors mentioned in Capt. Watson's review, there are numerous others (e.g., Navajos live largely in Arizona, not New Mexico). Someone trained as a journalist knows how to research facts and thus should be more careful with them; these errors make the reader doubt the veracity of Sullivan's account.

3. A few of the Moby Dick/Melville footnotes are interesting, but mostly they are annoying. As with distracting minutia, Sullivan seems to feel that he spent all that time reading Moby Dick and then Melville biographies, so he'd better put them in the book. He reaches so far to include Melville tidbits that it becomes quite comical: Sullivan mentions one of the crew is going bowling - BAM, footnote, Melville once worked at a bowling alley!!!; Sullivan went on an outing on April Fool's Day - BAM, footnote, Melville wondered if life was a joke!!! Sullivan feels these are cosmic coincidences joining the Makah whalers and the famous novelist of whaling. Unfortunately he undercuts this side story by seeing coincidences in things as common as breathing.

All that said, it's still not a bad book. It's just frustrating, because with some deft editing and reorganizing the book could have been outstanding.

A Great Memento
I read this book completely ignoring the footnotes that continually compares the parallels to the book Mobey Dick. I was literally in the middle of some of the events leading up to and following the whale hunt, and to see someone capture it and write about it so visually was terrific. There are a few minor errors [Paul Parker was not a part of the crew, and Kleckoh means "Thankyou"], but overall Robert Sullivan conveys a people geographically isolated, rising above the family and tribal bickerings, protesters, personal battles and ocean to bring us a whale we waited more than 75 years for. Even knowing how the book ended I couldn't put it down until it was finished!

Hunt for an editor
In "A Whale Hunt", by Robert Sullivan, the main focus is on the effort -- and eventual success -- of the Makah tribe from Washington State in resurrecting their cultural heritage by hunting whales. The story should be compelling, and Sullivan makes a valiant attempt to share the story from the viewpoint of the tribe. The problem is that Sullivan apparently decided that it would be too expensive to invest in a proper editor, or that the editors at Simom and Schuster had better things to do than edit this book. That leaves the reader with the incomprehensibly difficult task of trying to sort out the grammatical errors. To wit: Page 22, "He is compact and bespectacled, and he was wearing khakis and a polo shirt." The change of tense in this sentence would have been picked up by even the most junior editor. Even worse: Page 28, "Harriette talked of being in the Army and about a dream she had that involved a horse, which, to her, had something to do with Christianity being forced on the Indian people, and which became a poem." It was impossible for me to continue to read this book after trying to sort out the meaning of this sentence. I will save you all the trouble of plodding through this awful book. A group of native Americans overcomes the objections of the "save the whale" environmental whackos, and in the process manages to recapture some of the heritage that was taken from them by European invaders.

Inspiring, fascinating
This is an inspiring, funny, interesting, quirky, and quietly heroic story, very well told. Even without the climactic, unifying event, it would be a fascinating study of a community and its people.

I think the reviewer Doc Rosen, below, is wrong when he says that Sullivan accepted the "lies" of Paul Watson, the anti-whale-hunt captain of the Sea Shepherd. It seemed to me that Sullivan's portrayal of Watson as a bombastic fraud was quite effective, although never explicit, and that he merely passed along, skeptically, what Watson told him, and then left it to the reader to accept or reject.

I, for one, did not believe Watson for a minute, and I am grateful to Rosen for the confirmation.

I can do no better than to second Karen Rudolph's review, below. I only wish Sullivan could have provided portraits of more of the people involved (e.g., more crew members).

Romantic Abstraction vs Native Reality
I couldn't put this book down. It is simply the most honest book I have read about a modern Indian community. I am a white woman and I have been married into a Northwest Native fishing family for fifteen years. Sullivan doesn't romanticize the Indian people in his story but he obviously respects them. He sees their shortcomings but he does not judge them. Sullivan understands that no outsider can ever really know what treaty rights mean to Native Americans. Yet Sullivan takes the reader to the reservation and allows us to experience these tribal people as they live through a profound moment in their history. Every detail in this book rang true, even the fact that Mr. Watson, an anti-whaling protest leader, would claim to be adopted by the Oglala. I have run into many white people who believe that they know more about traditional Indian spirituality than actual Indians. The Makahs in this story don't fit anyones preconcieved ideas of how Indian people should act, feel, speak or pray. This book is about a complex and ambiguous reality. Without preaching, it shows how much we still can learn from Indian communities. I bought a number of copies to give to my friends. ... Read more

Book Description

The culmination of over a decade's worth of research by the Pond Dynamics/Aquaculture Collaborative Research Support Program (CRSP), Dynamics of Pond Aquaculture not only explains the physical, chemical, and biological processes that interact in pond culture systems, but also presents real-world research findings and considers the people who depend on these systems. This book uses data from CRSP field research sites in East Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, and North America to present a complete picture of the pond system and the environment in which it exists.A thorough study of the principles and practices of aquaculture, the book reflects the state of the art in pond aquaculture and incorporates recent advances that have changed the science in the last decade or so. It provides a thorough review of the many methods, techniques, and ideas that comprise this complex and fascinating area of study. ... Read more

Book Description

Integrated Fish Farming (IFF) is a sustainable-agriculture technology practiced widely in Asia and other regions of the world. This integrated technology can offer farmers economic improvements while lessening the adverse environmental impacts of farming. IFF systems typically involve a combination of fish polyculture, integration of agricultural production (livestock and/or crops) with aquaculture, and on-farm waste recycling.Drawing on research presented by experts from around the world at the International Workshop on Integrated Fish Farming, this book provides thorough, detailed and truly interdisciplinary coverage of one of the world's most important approaches to integrated farming systems. Integrated Fish Farming places IFF in a global context, reporting on case studies of successful IFF operations, experiments to enhance IFF performance, bioeconomic survey and modeling analyses, research on farm waste use and pond ecology, socioeconomic elements of IFF extension and adoption, and the bio-technical and economic aspects of adapting IFF to reservoirs, marshlands, rice paddies and marginal habitats. ... Read more

Book Description