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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 333.956783 EAN: 9780307267153 Edition: 1 ISBN: 0307267156 Label: Knopf Manufacturer: Knopf Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 352 Publication Date: July 15, 2008 Publisher: Knopf Release Date: July 15, 2008 Studio: Knopf Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: Know Your Tuna
Product Description: The author of The Book of Sharks, Imagining Atlantis, and Encyclopedia of the Sea turns his gaze to the tuna—one of the biggest, fastest, and most highly evolved marine animals and the source of some of the world’s most popular delicacies—now hovering on the brink of extinction. In recent years, the tuna’s place on our palates has come under scrutiny, as we grow increasingly aware of our own health and the health of our planet. Here, Ellis explains how a fish that was once able to thrive has become a commodity, in a book that shows how the natural world and the global economy converge on our plates. The longest migrator of any fish species, an Atlantic northern bluefin can travel from New England to the Mediterranean, then turn around and swim back; in the Pacific, the northern bluefin can make a round-trip journey from California to Japan. The fish can weigh in at 1,500 pounds and, in an instant, pick up speed to fifty-five miles per hour. But today the fish is the target of the insatiable sushi market, particularly in Japan, where an individual piece can go for seventy-five dollars. Ellis introduces us to the high-stakes world of “tuna ranches,” where large schools of half-grown tuna are caught in floating corrals and held in pens before being fattened, killed, gutted, frozen, and shipped to the Asian market. Once on the brink of bankruptcy, the world’s tuna ranches—in Australia, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and North Africa—have become multimillion-dollar enterprises. Experts warn that the fish are dying out and environmentalists lobby for stricter controls, while entire coastal ecosystems are under threat. The extinction of the tuna would mean not only the end of several species but dangerous consequences for the earth as a whole. In the tradition of Mark Kurlansky’s Cod, John Cole’s Striper, John Hersey’s Blues—and of course, Ellis’s own Great White Shark—this book will forever change the way we think about fish and fishing. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Great but poorly edited.Another ocean classic by Peters, this one on Tuna, mostly the Bluefin tuna. Contains history, biological, economics and environmental info. Many interesting factoids- one of the most interesting is not about Tuna at all- seems like most of the "whalemeat" sold in Japan is actually Dolphin! This is a great read that is hampered a bit by poor editing. The author states certain facts- over and over and over. Good editing would have caught this. There's ... Read More Rating: - As discussed on amazing Science Friday showThe author appeared on one of the most amazing NPR Science Friday radio shows I've heard. These fish are compelling and the author is very engaging, knowledgable and passionate. Scientists are studying them via computer "tags" that can track them, then pop off, float to the surface and phone home. Listen to the show and see tagging in action at http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/200809055 Rating:  - A WWF and Oceana Propaganda CampaignHalf of the book has some great information on biology,tuna ranching operations and early sportfishing methods and history. The other half of the book reads like an Oceana/Pew Charitable Trusts/World Wildlife Fund propaganda campaign. Anti-seafood, anti-fisherman, anti-farmed seafood. Same old nonsense and scare tactics. There's no denying that the Eastern Med tuna fishery needs to be closed down and better monitored. This book lumps all fishermen into that category. Read More Rating:  - Astonishes on every pageMeet the biggest, fastest, warmest-blooded fish in the world. Richard Ellis' fact-packed, meticulously-researched book astonishes on every page. For openers: tuna hunt in packs like wolves. They see in color. They combine the streamlining and speed of sharks with many of the warm-blooded traits of mammals. And when they are being "harvested," confined in small places to be hauled out and killed, they show panic that is visible when you look in their eyes. Everything you learn in this wonderful ... Read More |
