Hooked

Rather than wait for my next reading list compilation, I thought I'd tell you about Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish. I bought it because I was attracted to the idea of a non-fiction cop-and-robbers story on the open ocean. The story follows the chase of a fish poacher from Australian waters halfway around the globe, and the subsequent trial when they are finally caught.

The story was quite interesting, but what was a surprise to me was how much I learned about the issue of sustainable fisheries. The fish these guys were after was Chilean Sea Bass, a made-up marketing name for the Patagonian toothfish. I don't consider myself to be a major whale hugger, but I am going to be looking long and hard at the fish menu from now on. The story covers the "discovery" of the firm white-flesh fish, and the importer's struggles to find a market for it here in the US. Once it caught hold, it took off like wildfire. With the demand established, and no effective enforcement in place to check the equivalent of industrialized maritime clearcutting, entire worldwide populations of this fish have been wiped out. All this would be unnecessary with some controls in place, since after all, the fish can reproduce if they're being caught at a rational pace. The deck is stacked against them, though, and the bad guys have all the advantages in this battle, no question.

In hindsight I have to say I would not have picked up a book about sustainable fishing. Now you can enjoy the book and learn something new at the same time, too!