Book Description
The more than 1,000 species descriptions in this guide include information on range and habitat such as depths, bottom types, water temperatures, and salinity. The almost 1,100 illustrations use the Peterson Identification System for quick, accurate field identification.
Customer Reviews:
Can't Escape It.......2007-08-16
No matter what, this ultimately ends up the guide I am obliged to use when identifying a fish. I have always felt that a photographic guide MUST be easier to use for identification but in the end it is the Peterson guide that always has the final word. The paintings emphasize distinguishing species characteristics while the white background makes the image clear. Many images are in black and white but mostly, these are illustrations of fish lacking in color or readily identifiablbe without referencing the color. With numerous similar fish presented on the same page, identification is usually swift, especially if you have reviewed the manual prior to use. On the last trip, the new sighting was a creole wrasse. The guide made identification a breeze. I think it is helpful to peruse the guide first to have a rough understanding of the difference in appearance between a grouper and a goby or an angelfish and a wrasse. The descriptions are terse as in all Peterson guides, basically just enough to let you know for sure if your ID is correct or perhaps you have encountered a fish that has strayed outside its range. Also, for some reason, information on whether or not it is in commercial use. Information, too, on hazards. The introduction contains information on external fish anatomy.
My own copy is crinkled and warped from getting soaked in water but it still holds together and is fully functional. You may hope for better but I do not think there is a better book currently available that covers such a broad range of fishes. For the casual diver or fisherman, one of the plastic fish ID cards may hold enough information but it is always good to have Peterson's along for the final word.
Not your typical Peterson Guide.......2007-03-01
I have a few Peterson Guides (such as one for birds, and one for reptiles and amphibians) and I swear by them. I have always been able to count on Peterson Guides to provide detailed color illustrations with clearly defined identifying marks. This guide was a huge disappointment. The majority of the illustration plates are in black and white! I have no idea what possessed the editors to settle for a grayscale version from a guide series so well known for its colorful illustrations! (Wish I'd read the review below mine before I purchased this!)
The few color illustration plates are excellent as is usual for Peterson Guides. Even the black and white images are very well drawn (but tremendously less helpful than their color counterparts). The descriptions of each species are generally well-written and helpful, though not as extensive as the descriptions in other Peterson Guides.
In short, you won't find this guide to be totally useless, but it would be worth looking around for (and probably not hard to find) something better. It's clear to me that the Peterson editors either (a.) have a distinct bias towards terrestrial animals and don't care much for ichthyology, or (b.) were in a great rush to finish this guide quickly at the expense of quality. Whatever the explanation, one thing is for sure: the negligence apparent in the making of this guide is very out of character for Peterson.
A Field guide to Atlantic Coast Fishes.......2007-01-10
We were disappointed in this particular guide. We have Peterson bird guides that are great but the fishes guide is mostly black and white images and many varieties of fish had no image at all. Written information was available for all species.
Good reference book.......2006-08-07
This is a pretty good book for identifying the different species of fish, and giving a very brief overview of each species mentioned. however, with 1100 species packed into one book, the descriptions are brief, and the advertised information like temperature and salinity are not listed for all of the species - in fact I would say water temperature and depth are not listed for most.
75% of the illustrations are full color and are very good. however, the rest are black and white sketches, which make identification by sight pretty difficult. Even on those though, the identifying features are pointed out where appropriate.
Overall I would recommend this book to anyone interested in identifying fish of the Atlantic Coast. If you're a fisherman looking for information on habitat, water temperatures, depth, etc - you might need some other books in addition to this one.
A must of a field guide.......2001-03-10
If there is one book that will link people interested in fishes along the Atlantic coast of the US or the Gulf of Mexico... this is it. If you SCUBA dive, fish, keep saltwater aquariums or are an amature or professional naturalist or marine biologist you should have this book.
The Field guide to Atlantic Coast Fishes is an excellent treatise on the diversity of fishes in this area. The multitude of species are discussed in a logical manner with valuable information presented for each. The artwork is superb, with the each fish shown next to similar fish and critical points to identification highlighted. You should own three copies, one for your home, one for your office and one for your boat.
Book Description
With 1,700 superb colour photographs of over 1,400 species, Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds and Selected Fishes is the most comprehensive collection of photographs of Pacific Northwest marine life ever published. It is designed to allow the reader to recognize virtually any coastal organism that might be encountered from southern Alaska to southern Oregon--from sea lettuces and feather boa kelp through to the leopard ribbon worm, Pacific red octopus, spiny-thigh sea spider and gutless awning-clam. Each species is identified with photographs and includes a description with information on range, habitat, appearance and behaviour.
Andy Lamb and Bernard Hanby have spent most of their lifetimes studying and recording Pacific Northwest marine life and have completed over 4,000 scuba dives between them. Some of the species included in this volume have never been featured in print before. Colour-coded for quick reference and including a glossary and full index, Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest is a must-have for serious biologists, scuba divers, beachcombers or anyone interested in marine life and beautiful underwater photography.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing production.......2007-09-19
This book is one of the most amazing publishing accomplishments I have seen. The authors and their friends have accumulated 1700 superb photographs of marine life, especially the tiny and obscure invertebrates that almost no one has even seen or suspected, let alone photographed. (Where else are you going to find photos of neon sea-fleas and parasitic copepods in the wild?) Many of the animals herein are not even described scientifically. I studied fisheries development for years and thought I knew something about marine life, but I never knew there were so many worms and snails and tunicates out there, let alone did I ever see them or photos of them. Everyone interested in nature or biology should have this book, or at least look at it, just to see what amazing things there are in the world. It is of interest far beyond the narrow confines of Northwest Coast shores.
hard to top..........2007-06-30
so I'm no expert on marine life, but I'm very interested in the subject. I got this book and had high expectations that were more than met. The photography is excellent, the organization is excellent, and the contents extensive. I really like how they tell you both the common and the scientific names, and how they have some short descriptions of behaviors or charactoristics. I actually got it for my boyfriend because he wants to study to be a marine biologist and i saw the other reviews by people who were in related fields, and they made it sound like a book that would be useful even to an expert but not only useful to an expert. And it is. He loves the book (says its one of the best gifts he has ever gotten) and was very impressed by the quality of the contents, he uses it all the time. Bottom line the book is awesome i would reccommend it to ANYONE who loves ocean life.
Wonderful Resource.......2007-06-27
This book is a blessing for us tidepool/beach explorers in the Pacific Northwest because of its wonderful, clear photographs. It saves us many hours of tedious and frustrating puzzling over technical jargon trying to figure out the identity of whatever amazing creature has captured our hearts. The volunteers at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington have already practically worn out their first copy from looking up critters and plants that show up in the tanks via the flow-through seawater system. Many mysteries have been solved, and many fascinating tidbits of natural history gleaned to share with the visitors to the exhibits. Books like this will open the eyes of a society blind to our own environment, like the Peterson guides did a couple generations ago.
All praises and cliches apply: "a picture is worth a thousand words", "greatly needed and long over-do"... Consider this a definite rave review for a timely book. Now all we need is a waterproof edition!
An impressively thorough collection of the majestic ocean life associated with the Pacific Northwest.......2006-07-10
Enhanced with 1,700 superb color photographs, Marine Life Of The Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia Of Invertebrates, Seaweeds And Selected Fishes by Andy Lamb (Marine naturalist and educator) features the photography from Bernard P. Hanby (recipient of the Vancouver Natural History Society's 2003 Davidson Award for Conservation) and is an impressively thorough collection of the majestic ocean life associated with the Pacific Northwest. Featuring a "user friendly" and alphabetically organized listing of diverse fish, seaweed and invertebrate aquatic life, Marine Life Of The Pacific Northwest offers a comprehensive compendium of more than 1,400 saltwater plants and animals, and includes a quick reference usability with guide, maps, glossary, index, and color-coded pages for easy information access and identification, as well as entries that include the common name, scientific name, size, range, depth, description, picture, description and comments, and more. A core reference work for professional and academic library reference collections, Marine Life Of The Pacific Northwest is very strongly recommended for all marine-savvy explorers of the Pacific Northwest area.
Amazing and well worth it!!!.......2006-03-09
I work for a West Coast marine lab and I purchased this both for my work and for my own enjoyment. Twenty years in the making, there is nothing close to this in terms of illustrated guides for the region. Being that I work in the lesser known of the invertebrates, I was glad to see that the minor phyla are paid just as much attention to as the more common ones. I showed my copy around the lab, which led at least four more copies to be purchased. Upon opening the cover and flipping to any page, the first-time reader is speechless at the quality of the photos and the overall organization of the work. Yes, reference books like these are a bit more expensive than the everyday field guide, but this has so much more: Common name, scientific name (and limited synonymy), distribution, special remarks on each species... Very recommended!
Book Description
Each of the 690 identification pictures is a full-color photograph of a seashore creature. Arrangement by shape and by color makes identification quick and easy. 666 species are covered in full detail.
Customer Reviews:
Good field guide and beautiful picture book.......2005-05-31
Perhaps I am going overboard in giving this guide a five star review but even a book with an adequate selection of color photos of marine invertebrates is just so darn beautiful I can't help but cause me to rave and this bok offers a selection that is more than just adequate. There is no way one can include all of the seashore creatures of US into one volume let alone a field guide and Audubon guides are not the best things to use for taxonomy. That being said it is a gorgeous little book and certainly helpful to the average beachcomber. Even if you are a Midwestern landlubber this is a great little volume. If nothing else consider it a mini coffee table book.
If Frosted Flakes are grrrrrreat, this is so much better.......2002-04-09
I live in North Carolina and catch and keep a lot of Invertebrates we we go to the beach. So far, every Invert that we've caught has been in this book, easy to find and we found out alot about it by reading. Anyone who sees something cool at the beach often should get this book. In fact, it's a Must-Have.
Shredda Out
OK for the Basics.......2001-08-18
I think that all of North Americas sea shore critters can not be described in a single book. Certainly not in a book of this size. The publishers where quite bold in the scope and as such much information has been left out. That said let me tell you what is good about this book. The pictures are GREAT! Much better than looking at technical drawings. However, they are not better for identification. The descriptions of animal groups are excellent. For the person with little biological background this will go a good way toward explaining the complexities of ocean life. The method of identification, sorting by superficial appearance is handy, again for the inexperienced. To sum it up, if you want one book to carry during your first summer of beach combing get this one. If you need a companion for a marine zoology class stay away, unless you already have everything else.
Excellent.......2000-11-30
Anyone who has used the National Audubon's Field Guides knows just how great they are. This one is no exception. Great picture plates and acccurate descriptions of organisms. For the biologist to the beach hopper, this book is easy to use and very informative.
Great for Nature Watchers.......2000-04-03
I found out about Marine creatures in my Marine Bio. class, and I loved them, so I got this book to further my looking into their world, and it's great. A must have for any person interested in going to the seashore, and just watching what runs around in those tidepools and on the beach.
Book Description
Norval the Fish is hosting a seaside talkshow for the Fish Channel–and the Cat in the Hat and Thing One and Thing Two are Cameracat and Crew! Among Norval’s special guests are his old friend Clam-I-Am (a shy gal who lives in the sand and likes to spit), along with horseshoe and hermit crabs, jellyfish, sand fleas, starfish, seagulls, and miscellaneous mollusks. Seaweed, seaglass, tides, tidal pools, dunes, driftwood, and waves make cameo appearances, too. Warning: Beginning readers are apt to be swept away!
Customer Reviews:
ANOTHER GREAT ADDITION TO A GREAT LEARNING SERIES........2007-05-10
THis time we go to the sea and learn about the ecology of that wonderful place. Per usual, the art work is wonderful and the kids all seem to love it, which, if you think about it, is the best indorsement you can get for a children's book. This is a beginner book and between the delightful text and the same silly illustrations, makes learning actually fun for the child. This is one you will certainy want to place in your school library, if you have not already done so, and certainly one you will want to add to your child's home library collection. Loved ever page of this one.
Customer Reviews:
I am a Marine Biologist and this is the best book for the West Coast - Period!!.......2007-02-23
This is a timeless classic, very readable as the author puts you in a place (rocky intertidal or a mudflat) and then describes the animals you will see. It is written with a wise eye and wry humor. The long lived sea anemone in Scotland that was done in after 80 some years by the "ineptitude of (we suspect) a botanist".
It is more specific to central California, but still useful in Southern Calif and the northern coast as well.
A timeless classic.......2005-11-27
This is an amazing book. It was a landmark in its time, and is still useful today.
A Slightly Defaced Masterpiece.......2004-08-18
This book, as it was written, is a masterpiece of natural history. It is a contribution to humanistic biology that has style and description that is uncrippled by the invidious academic flatulence of the professional "scientist". It makes no pretensions. It was written by a man fascinated by the tidal seashore and the animals found therein. Read it and read it well.
Then read "Beyond the Outer Shores" by Eric Enno Tamm an unconventional biography of Ricketts that does full justice to the man and the myths.
Having gone through these impressive volumes I hope you will join me in despising Stanford University Press for what they did to Ricketts before his death and for allowing David Phillips to desecrate his memory in Edition Five.
Still & always the classic.......2003-07-13
This is probably THE serious book to have if one is going to immerse oneself in the California intertidal. Originally produced by Ed Ricketts (of Steinbeck/Cannery Row/Log From The Sea Of Cortez fame) the book has been upgraded, revised, re-edited by a plethora of "co-authors" since Ricketts' untimely death. It still retains much of Ricketts' then-revolutionary Habitat focus, which will either work for you (it does for me) or annoy the hard-core systematists out there. This ISN'T a light book to lug into the field or a light book to read -if you are just day-tripping The UC Press has a number of smaller & more accessibly illustrated field guides that I would reccomend, But if you are seriously into mmarine Bio and have some time on your hands along the California Coastline, you owe it to yourself to get this book. Even here on the Coast of Maine and twenty years removed from the West I still fid myself referring to it...
The standard field guide for the Pacific Coast of the USA.......1999-05-19
I can't believe that someone else has not reviewed this excellent guide to the intertidal biota of the Pacific Coast. This book has set the standard for reference guides to marine life along the Pacific Coast, as well as other locations. It is much more than a field guide -- though it also serves that role. This book describes the intertidal zonation patterns of the Pacific Coast as well as the ecology and aspects of the natural history of the organisms that live there. The book contains good taxonomic references as well. This is the book that many of the country's marine scientists cut their professional teeth on. If you are interested in marine biology, the diversity of life, or the ecology of nearshore habitats, this book is definitely for you. The main strength of the book is the logical organization by type of habitat and vertical elevation on the intertidal zone. The main challenge of a book like this is to remain up to date, which the publisher has managed by producing revised editions on regular basis. This book is a must for any field or arm chair marine naturalist!
Average customer rating:
- Good on details
- Simply Beautiful
- Informative as a textbook, entertainment like a novel
- A Book written By Rachel Carson
|
The Edge of the Sea
Rachel Carson
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
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ASIN: 0395924960 |
Book Description
"The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place." A book to be read for pleasure as well as a practical identification guide, The Edge of the Sea introduces a world of teeming life where the sea meets the land. A new generation of readers is discovering why Rachel Carson's books have become cornerstones of the environmental and conservation movements. New introduction by Sue Hubbell. (A Mariner Reissue)
Customer Reviews:
Good on details.......2006-12-10
Carson takes a more detailed look at life on the edge of the sea. Having been near one of the areas she mentnioned helped make the subject matter more personal. However, she didn't drag me into this book like I was when I read some of her other works. I felt it to be a little dull in places, even though the the information was interesting throughout the book. Certainly worth reading if you're looking for an introduction to life on the edge of the ocean.
Simply Beautiful.......2004-05-07
Having never heard of Rachel Carson except in relation to "Silent Spring", I was pleasantly surprised on first reading her writing in this book by the masterly and near-poetic elegance of her prose. Written in the 1950s, before nature documentaries allowed most of us to see the wonders of marine life with our own eyes, Carson's ability to introduce those wonders to us through evocatively-written description alone (with occasional illustrations) remains truly amazing. The problem is that a generation raised on visual stimuli would probably find it quite difficult to sustain enough patience to go through the whole book, since it does make substantial demands on one's sense of imagination. I found myself struggling by the time I had finished two chapters - even though each chapter is generally about a different kind of seashore (rock, sand, or coral reef), trying to visualise one fascinating organism after another just got rather tedious and confusing. My recommendation to other readers would be to maximise your enjoyment of this book by reading it at the seaside, or in conjunction with a relevant documentary on the Discovery Channel.
Informative as a textbook, entertainment like a novel.......2002-03-09
I just finished this and I can't wait to read the rest of the author's work. Carson has a gift for describing the world around her and a command of the language that few seem to appreciate today. This is basically a natural history book written as if it where a novel. In "Edge of the Sea" she describes seashores, the environment and how it defines the animals and plants that a visitor will see. She concentrates on America's East Coast. The text left me with a longing to be there. Where modern writers would use pictures, Carson uses words. This book would be good (4 stars) for anyone who enjoys written imagery. If you already love the sea then it deserves 5.
A Book written By Rachel Carson.......2000-05-30
I thought this book was very mature and detailed. She is an excellent writer and I am doing a report on her! She was a wonderful person. And I enjoyed this very much.
Product Description
624 pages, hardcover. By Scott W. Michael. Covering 68 families and thousands of species, Reef Fishes is an authoritative guide designed to be a lifelong reference for saltwater aquarists, divers, and amateur reef naturalists.
Customer Reviews:
Reef Fishes Volume 1.......2005-10-14
This book is a excellent reference, one that every saltwater fish enthusiast should have in their library. It goes into great detail about each reef fish, including their captive care, disorders and diseases, compatibility, reproduction and many other topics, way too many to list. Plus, the pictures are awesome! A must for anyone of enjoys saltwater aquariums.
Volume 2 is available.......2004-05-28
It should be noted that you will find it on Amazon under the name "Basslets, Dottybacks & Hawkfishes: plus seven more aqarium fish families with expert captive care advice for the marine aquarist", but it's obviously Reef Fishes Vol 2 as confirmed by the Microcosm website.
Now we are all waiting volume 3 !!
Waiting with Bated Breath.......2004-04-02
This is one of the best fish books I've ever owned. The author succeeds admirably in his goal of providing a comprehensive reference to reef fishes. There are a couple of things prospective buyers should note:
1) There is more in-depth information about each species than I've seen in any other fish book---by this, I mean pages instead of a paragraph or two.
2) This is only volume 1 of an eventual 3 volume set that will provide a comprehensive reference to virtually all reef fishes. What this means is that all kinds of bizarre fishes are covered in detail----even those that most of us would never consider for our own aquarium and those that we will never see unless we take up scuba diving. Many (most?) of the fishes that the amateur aquarist might own will be covered in future volumes.
The text is well-written and fun to read. I particularly enjoyed the chapter on frogfishes, even though I can't imagine myself owning one. Additionally, the book is profusely illustrated with excellent color photographs. It's really astounding that one person could do all the research, compilation, and writing that went into this. Whatever Mr. Michael is making from this book, it's not enough.
Over-all, a really terrific book, and I'm waiting with bated breath for volumes 1 and 2. I hope the author can find time and energy enough to get them out within a few years.
Reef Fishes Volume 1 by Scott W. Michael.......2003-06-19
Awesome book! So many wonderful pictures and more information than I hoped for!
Great Beginning--Where's Volume 2?.......2003-05-04
This is a wonderful book. It give s agreat intor to the general aspects of anatomy, physiology and ecology of reef fishes. It then goes on into detail on several families of fish. Among these are: Eels, Frogfishes, Seahorses, Squirrelfishes, Lionfishes, Anthias, and several others.
At least 2 more volumes are planned.
Volume 2 has been due "soon" for quite a while now. I hope "soon" isn't much longer--it will include many of the most interesting fishes: Damselfishes, Butterflyfishes, Angelfishes, Dottybacks, Jawfishes, Grammas, and several more.
Volume 3 (who knows when it will arrive) will include wrasses, blennies, gobies, surgeonfishes, rabbitfishes, pufferfishes and several others.
This series will definitely be the "definitive reference on all fishes a marine aquarist might ever encounter." The author, Scott W. Michael, is a renowned expert in this field. He has more than 25 years experience as an aquarist and diver. He has written several other books and contributes regularly to Aquarium Fish Magazine.
Highly recommended!!
Book Description
In 1980 a group of scientists censusing marine mammals in the Bay of Fundy was astonished at the sight of 25 right whales. It was, one scientist later recalled, "like finding a brontosaurus in the backyard." Until that time, scientists believed the North Atlantic right whale was extinct or nearly so. The sightings electrified the research community, spurring a quarter century of exploration, which is documented here.
The authors present our current knowledge about the biology and plight of right whales, including their reproduction, feeding, genetics, and endocrinology, as well as fatal run-ins with ships and fishing gear. Employing individual identifications, acoustics, and population models, Scott Kraus, Rosalind Rolland, and their colleagues present a vivid history of this animal, from a once commercially hunted commodity to today's life-threatening challenges of urban waters.
Hunted for nearly a millennium, right whales are now being killed by the ocean commerce that supports our modern way of life. This book offers hope for the eventual salvation of this great whale.
Average customer rating:
- Strange, whimsical biography of a fish
- A Tremendously Important Story Well Told!
- Cod: a very important book
- Would You Rather Be A Fish?
- Intriguing look at the the history and influence of cod
|
Cod
Mark Kurlansky
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0099268701 |
Amazon.com
You probably enjoy eating codfish, but reading about them? Mark Kurlansky has written a fabulous book--well worth your time--about a fish that probably has mattered more in human history than any other. The cod helped inspire the discovery and exploration of North America. It had a profound impact upon the economic development of New England and eastern Canada from the earliest times. Today, however, overfishing is a constant threat. Kurlansky sprinkles his well-written and occasionally humorous history with interesting asides on the possible origin of the word codpiece and dozens of fish recipes. Sometimes a book on an offbeat or neglected subject really makes the grade. This is one of them.
Book Description
Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been spurred by it, national diets have been based on it, economies have depended on it, and the settlement of North America was driven by it. Cod, it turns out, is the reason Europeans set sail across the Atlantic, and it is the only reason they could. What did the Vikings eat in icy Greenland and on the five expeditions to America recorded in the Icelandic sagas? Cod -- frozen and dried in the frosty air, then broken into pieces and eaten like hardtack. What was the staple of the medieval diet? Cod again, sold salted by the Basques, an enigmatic people with a mysterious, unlimited supply of cod.
Cod is a charming tour of history with all its economic forces laid bare and a fish story embellished with great gastronomic detail. It is also a tragic tale of environmental failure, of depleted fishing stocks where once the cod's numbers were legendary. In this deceptively whimsical biography of a fish, Mark Kurlansky brings a thousand years of human civilization into captivating focus.
Customer Reviews:
Strange, whimsical biography of a fish.......2007-10-15
Mark Kurlansky has made something of a reputation for himself, writing whimsical histories of things which usually don't merit books. His first book in this vein, Salt, was something of a bestseller, and he's written a book on oysters since the current volume. However, today we're writing about Cod, a book which recounts the harvesting, or fishing, of a species of fish mostly from the Atlantic Ocean.
Kurlansky spends most of the book recounting how these fish are caught, prepared, and consumed. The author spends considerable time dealing with the issues of over-fishing, the various controversies surrounding the ownership of the schools and shoals of fish. Each chapter concludes with a short section on preparing the fish, usually including an actual recipe, often from long ago.
I enjoyed this book. I found it unusual, perhaps even unique, and it's a fresh look at history from a really different angle.
A Tremendously Important Story Well Told!.......2007-09-23
Wars have been fought over it, revolutions have been spurred by it, national diets have been based on it, economies have depended on it, and the settlement of North America was driven by it!
There are few fish more important to man than cod and in this endlessly insightful and colorful history of our obsession with this fish, author Mark Kurlansky, a historian, food critic, and world traveler sheds light on a thousand years of human civilization.
Unfortunately, the vast schools of cod that once inhabited the world's oceans and seas have disappeared, the result of overfishing, and may never return again.
This is a tremendously important story well told!
Cod: a very important book.......2007-08-23
Kirlansky deals with history both in this book and in "Salt" like someone swimming in familiar waters. His approach is thematic and this theme ties continents and centuries together.
Would You Rather Be A Fish?.......2007-07-22
This short book suggests that there is more to the codfish than meets the eye - or the palate. It is not a biography; it traces the impact of cod on the economic history of North America and Europe, starting at about the time of Christopher Columbus or, more properly, the time of Columbus' fellow Genovese, John Cabot. It was Cabot who stumbled across the secret fishing ground of the Basques and who claimed it for England under the name "New Found Land." The waters at the tip of the Gulfstream were teeming with cod and the frigid weather was conducive to drying and salting processes that were necessary to preserve the fish on their journey to European markets.
Cod was a "money crop." It was also a source of nutrition that greatly extended the distances that ships could travel without resupply of food. Like other valuable commodities, the cod spawned greed on the part of fishermen, merchants and nations that wanted the money for themselves. Greed also drove the development of mechanized harvesting equipment that greatly increased the number of cod being taken from the sea. It never occurred to the cod industry that it was dealing with a limited supply of fish until that supply was depleted.
Cod presented a challenge to lawmakers who wanted to develop effective regulation of an international industry in a world that insisted on international waters being open to all nations. Precipitated by the regulation of cod, national waters were extended farther and farther from coastlines. National policies were challenged, economic, diplomatic and military as fishing vessels, coast guard cutters and naval warships skirted each other in the icy waters of the North Atlantic.
The issue is still in doubt. Can the cod be saved? Think about it when you order fish and chips.
Recipes for cod dishes - most of them unappetizing - are sprinkled throughout the book. The final chapter is a collection of recipes. Also throughout the book are many quotations relating to cod.
The style of the book is very readable. The first portion is a bare-bones history with the author's views being stated in an ex cathedra manner that makes the reader wonder whether the author has a solid basis for those views or whether the facts have been stretched to meet the predetermined theory of the text. His statements with respect to the Catholic Church are suspect. Moreover, the involvement of cod is often described without any mention of other more substantial factors, resulting in a myopic view of what happened. For example, the author gives the impression that the American Revolution centered on the cod-fishing industry of Massachusetts and that the War of 1812 was won by seamen who attained their skills as New England fishermen. The last half of the book is written in the style of newspaper reporting which, although undoubtedly accurate, is not as interesting as the ex cathedra statements that may not be correct but that grab your interest.
I liked it.
Intriguing look at the the history and influence of cod.......2007-07-08
_Cod_ by Mark Kurlansky is an intriguing look at the influence on history of the cod and the history and future of the cod fishery.
The Atlantic cod, _Gadus morhua_, had been fished as far back as the Middle Ages by the Vikings, who were the first to cure cod, preserving them by hanging the fish in the winter air until the fish lost four-fifths of its weight and "became a durable woodlike plank," which could be broken apart and eaten like hardtack (without which the epic Viking voyages to Iceland, Greenland, and the New World would not have been possible). Medieval Basque fishermen had salt (which the Vikings lacked), and were able to salt their cod before drying it, making it last much longer (aided by the fact that cod is close to fat-free) and producing a vital trade good for a truly international market, aided by the Catholic Church, which declared Fridays, the forty days of Lent, and various other religious holidays as "lean days," forbidding worshippers to eat most animal flesh other than fish. Basque fishermen ranged so far and wide in search of cod that they discovered the New World before Columbus and were encountered in large numbers in North American waters by such early explorers as Jacques Cartier.
The cod is "the perfect commercial fish;" it thrives in cold waters, will eat just about anything (including young cod), and is found in huge schools in shallow waters and close to shore. Its flesh, prized for its whiteness, has very high protein content (18%) and when dried becomes even more concentrated (almost 80%).
There is little to waste on a cod. The throat (called a tongue) and small disks of flesh to either side (referred to as cheeks) are very flavorful. The air bladder (commercially called a sound) has been rendered into isinglass, which was used to make some glues and clarifying agents (though in the past was often eaten fried or in chowders). Roe is eaten, as is the female gonads, a two-pronged organ called the britches. Icelanders and Scottish Highlanders made sausage-like concoctions out of cod stomachs. Tripe is eaten in the Mediterranean. The skin is either eaten or cured as leather. The British were "great cod-liver oil enthusiasts," using it as a remedy for many ailments. The remaining organs and bones were used as fertilizer (though until the 20th century Icelanders softened the bones in sour milk and ate them too). By the way a number of historic cod recipes are included.
Codfish include ten families with more than 200 species, nearly all of which live in cold salt water in the Northern Hemisphere, though there is one tropical species (the tiny bregmaceros, of no commercial importance), one South Atlantic species, and one freshwater type, the burbot (enjoyed by lake fishermen). To the commercial fishermen, there are but five kinds of gadiform fish, the Atlantic cod, haddock, pollock, whiting, and hake (and increasingly a sixth form, the Pacific cod). The Atlantic cod is the largest, has the whitest meat, and is generally but not always the most highly prized (Icelanders prefer haddock, as do Nova Scotians and those in northern England and Scotland). Cod though "is the prize," in demand for centuries as a cheap, long-lasting source of nutrition and now as an increasingly expensive delicacy.
The Pilgrims settled was then called North Virgina, hoping to make a profit from the cod fishery. Cod shaped the economies of both Newfoundland and New England, though quite differently. The Newfoundland economy was built around Europeans arriving, catching cod for a few months, and then taking the fish back to Europe, but New England, with its ice-free harbors, longer growing season, and arable land attracted far more settlers. Additionally, cod spawned off the coast of southern New England in the height of winter while in the summer in Newfoundland (which would conflict with any Newfoundland farming season). Cod built Boston, as it was a product Europe and European colonies wanted and something that gave the population money to spend on European goods. Eventually Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, lacking internal markets or population, became fishing outposts serviced by and servicing Boston. Salt cod merchants of New England saw a huge market in the Caribbean for their wares, as food for slaves on sugar plantations, enabling the sugar industry to thrive and further enriching New Englanders. So rich did this trade make the colonies that England worried they would no longer need the mother country and sought to reassert control starting with the Molasses Act in 1733 and eventually the hated Stamp Act, one of several things that lead to the American Revolution. One of the seeds for another war was sown thanks to disagreements among American delegates following the war, as Southerners complained that the interests of nine states were being sacrificed by the demands of fishing rights to British waters by the other four, creating one of the first North-South splits in the U.S.
The cod stood little chance against an ever improving fishing industry. Kurlansky covered the evolution of cod fishing, showing how each new innovation -long lining, gill nets, the otter trawl, the steam engine, innovations in freezing food, the advent of the factory ship - allowed for ever larger catches of cod to be landed and sold but also in the end doomed the fishery. Not only were too many fish caught, some of the new methods were quite destructive, as some of the huge trawl nets devastated the seafloor, leaving behind deserts, bereft of cover or animal life.
Many early attempts at conservation failed. Mesh size was tried, but once a net became filled with enough fish, few fish of any size can escape. Quotas were issued, eventually for individual ships, but that was of no help as fishermen would radio the shore to find what the fish were worth and if the market price was too low, would dump the fish - all already dead - and save their quota for another day.
Average customer rating:
- The Beach as a Book
- A bit of propaganda
- An Ideal Beach Read
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How to Read a North Carolina Beach: Bubble Holes, Barking Sands, and Rippled Runnels
Orrin H. Pilkey ,
Tracy Monegan Rice , and
William J. Neal
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Nature Guide to the Carolina Coast: Common Birds, Crabs, Shells, Fish, and Other Entities of the Coastal Environment
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Seashells of North Carolina
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Ribbon of Sand: The Amazing Convergence of the Ocean and the Outer Banks (Chapel Hill Book)
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Coastal Fishing in the Carolinas: From Surf, Pier, and Jetty
ASIN: 0807855103
Release Date: 2006-09-26 |
Book Description
Take a walk on the beach with three coastal experts who reveal the secrets and the science of the North Carolina shoreline. What makes sea foam? What are those tiny sand volcanoes along the waterline? You'll find the answers to these questions and dozens more in this comprehensive field guide to the state's beaches, which shows visitors how to decipher the mysteries of the beach and interpret clues to an ever-changing geological story.
Orrin Pilkey, Tracy Monegan Rice, and William Neal explore large-scale processes, such as the composition and interaction of wind, waves, and sand, as well as smaller features, such as bubble holes, drift lines, and black sands. In addition, coastal life forms large and small--from crabs and turtles to microscopic animals--are all discussed here. The concluding chapter contemplates the future of North Carolina beaches, considering the threats to their survival and assessing strategies for conservation. This indispensable beach book offers vacationers and naturalists a single source for learning to appreciate and preserve the natural features of a genuine state treasure.
Customer Reviews:
The Beach as a Book.......2005-08-05
This slim volume should be packed by any reader heading off to the
beach in North Carolina. The underlying theme is vintage Pilkey, the prophetic gadfly of beach development. He and his co-authors want us to understand that we are loving the beaches to death, like children who capture wild things. Beaches are dynamic, explains Pilkey, and all our efforts to stabiize them in some permanent state for our perpetual enjoyment are ultimately doomed. Thanks to the clear diagrams and excellent pictures, beach walkers and vicarious lovers of golden sands will better understand how this fragile system works. We need to read what Pilkey says, even if we don't want him to be right.
A bit of propaganda.......2005-07-20
The author has included information on the topics shown in the title which were interesting and informative however, it is clear that the author is anti-development at the beach and this message comes though time and time again. With this much propaganda against building on the coastline I think the book should have been free.
An Ideal Beach Read.......2004-09-13
This is beach geology 101 rendered in a pleasant and most fluent voice like the best of classic nature writing. The considerable information is meted out in a way that is easily absorbed. Before you reach the end, you are walking on the beach identifying runnels, plunging breakers, nail holes, swash and wrack lines and other exotica without running back to the book for help. You are no longer alarmed at black sand (it's sand of a different mineral base), you have new respect for the heaps of broken shells in your path. You understand how beaches are formed and where sand came from. You now know why a beach never looks the same from one day to the next. You can identify evidence of the mess caused by human intervention. This book will enhance your stay at the beach in ways that whiffle-light detective fiction never will.
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