Customer Reviews

The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is a fascinating, very well written book on a subject most people forget about in spite of how important it is: the food resources of the sea. When I first saw the book I wondered how the author could make an interesting topic out of it...when I started to browse it, I discovered a great amount of information about the wonderful world of the seas, about what so many companies are doing to our resources, about the repercusions hardly anyone is aware of.
I bought it and read it immediately.
One of the best non-fiction books I have read in the last few years.

Charles Clover tackles a topic in "The End of the Line" that for most people on the planet, especially in developed nations, is an out-of-sight, out-of-mind issue - i.e., the current (deplorable) status of global marine fisheries and global marine fisheries practices and policies.

The lead quote on the front cover of the book states, "The maritime equivalent of Silent Spring" - THE INDEPENDENT. In some ways I think that quote is right. Here's why.

"Silent Spring" addressed an issue - the widespread and sometimes indescriminate use of long-lasting pesticides such as DDT and DDE - that had ecological and environmental effects on a scale that floored many people when they read that landmark book by Rachel Carson back in the 1960s. Her book woke people up to what was happening, and was persuasive enough that it even mobilized segments of corporate America, e.g., Dow Chemical, to actively fight against what she wrote...perhaps an indicator that she was doing something right! "Silent Spring" also helped launch the American Environmental Movement.

When people read "Silent Spring" today they typcially say to themselves, "Of course, everyone knows this!"

In "End of the Line" Charles Clover tackles a topic that, like pesticide use, needs to be put front and center at national and international levels. He addreses a segment of modern human endeavor - fishing - that has been with us for thousands of years, but has now reached a point where we have become so technologically advanced in our fishing practices that we can and have decimated fishery after fishery, and we have seen those fisheries crash one after another. This makes we want to weep!

When I read this book I thought to myself, "Of course that's what's happening", but then again I've been following the status of global marine fisheries for over 15 years myself (I'm a marine biologist and former director of Environmental Studies at Manchester College, IN 1992-2002). Because of my background and profession Clover's thesis didn't take me by surprise, but I believe that most readers will be floored by the things he discusses.

Clover recounts his travels around the world and his meetings with people ranging from government leaders to fishermen that make their living at sea. He even worked as a deck hand on a fishing boat in order to gain first-hand experience that is essential to bringing this topic to life.

This book will be of interest to you if any of the following apply to you if you have interest in any of the following:
1) the status of the global marine environment
2) the status of marine fisheries
3) the behavior of your government when it comes to marine fisheries and fisheries policies (or lack thereof)
4) the future directions of marine fisheries
5) you enjoy eating fish, but want to know where the fish you eat comes from, and how they were grown or caught.

This is a solid 5-star addition to the body of literature on marine fisheries. I look forward to introducing it to my future marine biology and ichthyology classes.

"The End of the Line" is a well-written, highly informative book which addresses a serious global issue.

"Imagine what people would say if a band of hunters strung a mile of net between two immense all-terrain vehicles and dragged it at speed across the plains of Africa.... left behind is a strangely bedraggled landscape resembling a harrowed field... this efficient but highly unselective way of killing animals is known as trawling... it is practiced the world over every day, from the Barents Sea in the Arctic to the shores of Antarctica and from the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean and the central Pacific to the temperate waters off Cape Cod."

Overfishing is a serious problem that must be addressed. The statistics are staggering. As journalist Charles Clover shows in his global exploration of the destruction caused by overfishing, we have inflicted a crisis on the oceans in a single human lifetime greater than any yet caused by pollution.

For those of you who are concerned about the state of our fisheries and declining fish populations worldwide, I would suggest a newly published book, "The End of the Line," by Charles Clover. As The Independent suggests, his book is "the maritime equivalent of Silent Spring." Clover takes the reader on an unbiased tour of many of the most important fisheries throughout the world from Africa to Iceland, offshore to nearshore. His appraisal and commentary of fishery management is candid and insightful. I highly recommend this book to anyone who finds themselves trying to contemplate the disequilibrium between fishery management and sustainability. The book ends with some positive examples of fishery management of which there are sadly too few, and he has some helpful tips for all of us to do our part to ensure fish stocks for the next generation.

The book has a European frame of reference, but addresses fishery issues worldwide. The information is fairly current (2005-ish) and thoughtfully presents the complexities of fisheries, culture, human tendencies and different regulatory approaches and their shortcomings. While the outlook is bleak, biological organisms are tenacious and given enough opportunity, perhaps humans can figure out how to take better control of our own bad tendencies and make progress. Well written, well researched, up to date. A very enjoyable, educational and a bit depressing read!

This book should be required reading for every policy maker whose job involves food production. We're on the wrong track and heading for a cliff, and very few areas of the ocean are being properly managed. The book offers a wealth of data, is easily readable, and the conclusion is inescapable; we must learn to grow fish sustainably. The author knows this, and refers in a few places to the way to doing this, but is obviously unaware of the methods of truly sustainable aquaculture, namely aquaponics. Please, if you read this book, also look into tilapia and aquaponics, which CAN solve the problem of seafood depletion if we're smart enough to implement it in time. Unfortunately at this time there are no comprehensive books on the subject, but look it up the technique is being taught at UVI in St Croix by Dr James Rakocy.

Length:: 2:23 Mins

This is one of the most important books I have read. I have turned a single page of this book into a video relating to by-catch when using purse seine netting as commonly employed for tuna fishing. Long line tuna fishing with hooks stretching out up to 60 miles long (and several lines) is only slightly less worse. The pole and line method is the best. The End of the Line was one of the first books of its kind. It was difficult to get published, but now it is going into new editions, and other books are joining the bandwagon. In order to see just how bad the situation is you may watch the following video from You Tube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZkwewR69w8 The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat

A must buy for anyone interested in overfishing. This work focuses on Cod and Bluefin Tuna, as well as many other fisheries and preserves such as Goat Island in New Zealand. The fact that Clover is a journalist makes it very readable and without a sugarcoating or blurring of vision. He investigates well, presents the material well, and keeps it entertaining with some of his own utopian thoughts future possibilities. Very, very informative, and not too dry at all.

This is a great book on the causes and consequences of unsustainable commercial fishing around the world. It has been made into a movie which I haven't seen, but which has received mixed reviews. As a resident of Cape Cod where overfishing has caused the collapse of our groundfish populations (cod, haddock, yellowtail flounder, etc.), many of the topics discussed in this book are relevant to our local situation. Since the cod have not recovered after 20 years of increased protection by state/federal fishery management efforts, it takes a long time to recover from the consequences of unsustainable fishing. Thus an ounce of prevention to promote sustainable fish harvesting is worth a ton of cure after the fact to recover depleted populations/restore their habitats in the ocean.

I don't really take the time to write reviews on here, but I just finished this one and I'm so glad this book is out there.

An eye-opening account of the global fishing industry today. Clover, a journalist from the Daily Telegraph, isn't afraid of asking the tough questions- he's been covering this beat for more than a decade- and gets some really startling answers. If you don't know how the tuna in your cupboard or the sashimi on your plate got there, be prepared for a real story.