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Title: Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish
ISBN: 1594861102
Author:
G. Bruce Knecht
Publicate Date: 2006-05-02
Publish: 2006-05-02
List Price: $24.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Hardcover
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $2.95
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.50
Amazon Merchant Price: $16.47
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| Customer Review: |
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1: THE WORLD'S FISH MARKET IN CRISIS
It's no secret that the world's fish market is in rapid decline. The 6.8 billion people who share our planet eat a lot of fish, consuming more than nature supplies in the world's oceans. In Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish, author G. Bruce Knecht tells a fascinating story about the illegal quest for a rapidly disappearing fish, and the frantic attempts of one nation to bring one fishing boat of poachers to justice. Knecht brings to light the enormous impact commercial fishing has on the world's fish population, and the complexity of attempts to regulate the careless emptying of the sea.
The reader is taken on a chase through Antarctica waters as Australian fisheries officials attempt to stop and bring to justice a boatload of rogue fisherman with holds filled with Patagonian toothfish taken in Australian fishing waters. The antagonists battle icebergs, gigantic frozen seas, and gale winds as they attempt to outmaneuver each other, both sides convinced of the merits of their position and unwilling to submit to the other. The pursuit is one of the longest ever recorded in maritime history, and in a frigid area of the world where even normal oceangoing operations are fraught with danger.
Knecht also introduces us to the Patagonia toothfish, known as Chilean Sea Bass in the world's restaurants, whose ocean population has been decimated by the public's voracious appetite for a different seafood dish. Suppliers have scrambled to fill chefs' increasing orders for a fish that brings big profits to restaurant owners and in doing so have created international chaos in the fishing industry. Who can fish where and for how many fish are never ending questions with unsatisfactory answers. So the Patagonia toothfish joins cod, salmon, tuna, swordfish and other desirable fish with less than 10 percent of the numbers that swam just 50 years ago.
This is a non-fiction book of many elements. It combines a crime story with a nautical theme, complete with innovative investigation, hot pursuit, and courtroom drama. If that's not enough excitement, the book takes a serious look at an international problem. Public and governmental inaction with regards to our oceans and their bounty does not bode well for future eating habits when we may be reduced to eating "jelly fish sandwiches" and "plankton soup" as Knecht quotes renowned researcher Daniel Pauly in Hooked.
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2: Quick information on current fishing practices.
Quick reading. Great. Need to purchase and share with you fish eating friends. Open everyone's eyes.
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3: Fascinating cautionary tale
This book reads like an adventure story. Unfortunately, the message is not optimistic. Short of a worldwide effort to stop illegal fishing in order to prevent the total destruction of a species, I doubt that anything can be done (although the example of porpoise-safe tuna fishing might be one way.) I had difficulty putting this book down.
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4: An Exciting Read, Great Environmental Message.
Even if one doesn't care about the plight of marine species like Chilean Seabass this book makes a great read! It is a thrilling good guy bad guy story taking place in a desolate part of the world. It also very informative and insightful regarding Marine Conservation.
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5: Wonderful Book!
This is a wonderful book and a great read that you won't want to put down until you finish!
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