A new publication, a Wiley-Blackwell collaboration with Horizon International was announced by Wiley.
Written by authorities from various related specialties, this book presents the most complete treatment possible of the conditions responsible for water and sanitation-related diseases, the pathogens and their biology, morbidity and mortality resulting from the lack of safe water and sanitation, distribution of these diseases, and the conditions that must be met to reduce or eradicate them. Preventive measures and solutions are presented throughout.
This rather startling title is just that, a title meant to startle the reader into action to do what they can to help protect and save the fish of the seas. In this new book for kids and, I would add adults, its author, Mark Kurlansky, author of the award-winning bestseller Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, writes about what is happening to fish, the oceans, and our environment, and provides examples of what, when armed with knowledge, kids can do about it. The author asks his readers to “imagine a planet with orange oceans, toxic seawater, and marine life that consists almost solely of jellyfish.” Imagine a planet with orange oceans, toxic seawater, and marine life that consists almost solely of jellyfish and calls for drastic measures to reverse the decline of fish populations.
As the publisher says of the book, it is “A children's book that explains, through both text and a graphic novel, the current crisis in the oceans, the frightening tragedy of a sea devoid of fish, the impact of that sad outcome, and how to prevent it.”
World Without Fish suggests ways to help save fish such as by supporting of sustainable fishing, urging the family to use Seafood watch guides that list the best choices of fish to eat and which ones to avoid, using the guides to discuss with parents and friends which are good fish to buy, and, to “never eat endangered fish like bluefin tuna.”
The book describes how the fish we most commonly eat, including tuna, salmon, cod, and swordfish, could disappear within 50 years, and the domino effect it would have - oceans teeming with jellyfish and turning pinkish orange from algal blooms; seabirds disappearing, then reptiles, then mammals. It describes the back-and-forth dynamic of fishermen and scientists. It covers the effects of industrialized fishing, and how bottom-dragging nets are turning the ocean floor into a desert.
Kurlansky interweaves fascinating details about sea life into his narrative about the importance of preserving biodiversity, “the presence of a wide variety of species,” from the ancient trilobites to the leatherback turtle.
Roughy
Illustration by Robbie Cada from Wikipedia.
Telling about the tragedies of the seas, in a chapter entitled “Being the Sad, Cautionary Tale of the Orange Roughy,” Kurlansky writes: “Orange Roughy is a deepwater fish that was a popular restaurant item in the 1970s. At that time, no one understood that this species is very different from the other fish we commonly eat. Today, scientists estimate that the Orange Roughy lives for 150 years, which is at least five times as long as the lifespan of most of the fish we know. The problem is that it grows very slowly and isn’t capable of producing offspring until it is twenty years old, making it particularly susceptible to overfishing. Because we didn’t realize this in the 1970s, the Orange Roughy became one of the world’s most threatened fish within decades of being discovered.”
Interwoven within the book is a 12-page full-color graphic novel. Each beautifully illustrated chapter opener links to form a larger fictional story that complements the text.
Brimming with a wealth of useful information, the book covers a variety of crucial topics, such as:
Where to find sustainable fish
Line-caught vs. net-caught fish
The impact of oil spills, pollution, and debris on the marine environment
The history of fishing and how it became an industry
The effects of overfishing and global warming
Why jellyfish are the “cockroaches” of the sea
Kurlansky ultimately imbues this grave subject with an empowering, optimistic message: there is still time to save the marine environment if we act now. He includes a wealth of tips and guidelines to help us get started. As Kurlansky reminds readers, “Saving the planet takes a lot of work. But what could be more worthwhile?”
About the Authors:
Mark Kurlansky is a former commercial fisherman and the New York Times bestselling author of Cod, Salt, The Big Oyster, and other books. He’s won numerous awards, including the James A. Beard Award, ALA Notable Book Award, and New York Public Library Best Books of the Year Award. He lives with his wife and daughter, his favorite fishing companion, in New York City and Gloucester, Massachusetts. His website is www.markkurlansky.com.
Frank Stockton is an artist and illustrator whose work has appeared in Esquire, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. Illustrations shown here are by Frank Stockton unless otherwise credited.
Win a Free Copy:
Horizon International is offering five free copies to winners of its Magic Porthole contest for August and September 2011: For details go to Contests.
Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas by Dr. Sylvia Earle and Linda Glover Released by National Geographic Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas, by Sylvia A. Earle and Linda K. Glover just released (2009) by National Geographic offers state of the art maps of the ocean's sea floors including the areas of the newly designated National Marine Monuments. In this book readers are taken into the depths of the oceans Photo NOAA with over 100 maps including 5 especially created maps of the sea floor of the major basins with details never before seen.
Earth's unique, forbidding ice oceans of the Arctic and Antarctic have revealed a trove of secrets to Census of Marine Life explorers, who were especially surprised to find at least 235 species live in both polar seas despite an 11,000-kilometer distance in between.
Representing the most comprehensive and authoritative answer yet to one of humanity's most ancient questions -- "what lives in the sea?" Census of Marine Life scientists on August 2, 2010 released an inventory of species distribution and diversity in key global ocean areas.
Scientists combined information collected over centuries with data obtained during the decade-long Census to create a roll call of species in 25 biologically representative regions -- from the Antarctic through temperate and tropical seas to the Arctic.
In this week's issue of the journal Nature, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) chemical oceanographer Ken Johnson, along with co-authors Stephen Riser at the University of Washington and David Karl at the University of Hawaii, show that open-ocean microalgae obtain nitrate from deep waters as much as 250 meters below the surface. The finding will help scientists predict how open-ocean ecosystems could respond to global warming.
Please click on the title to go to the full article.
“Out of all the biological carbon captured in the world, over half is captured by marine living organisms hence it is called blue carbon.” Photo iStockphoto/Jan Rysavy
Seagrasses to Salt Marshes Among the Most Cost Effective Carbon Capture and Storage Systems on the Planet. A new Rapid Response Report estimates that carbon emissions equal to half the annual emissions of the global transport sector are being captured and stored by marine ecosystems such as mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses. A combination of reducing deforestation on land, allied to restoring the coverage and health of these marine ecosystems could deliver up to 25% of the emissions reductions needed to avoid 'dangerous' climate change.
About the Authors:
Print a pocket-size Seafood Watch guide to take with you.
