The Rockfishes of the Northeast Pacific [Paperback]

Milton S. Love (Author), Mary Yoklavich (Author), Lyman Thorsteinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2002

From sleek shortbelly rockfish that resemble mackerels to heavy-bodied cowcod, the rockfishes display a bewildering array of shapes, sizes, and colors. This book is the most comprehensive ever written on this marvelously diverse group of fishes. The first part gives an overview of rockfish systematics, biology, ecology, and fisheries. The second part contains a key to identifying each species followed by detailed species accounts including information on appearance, life history, and fishery status. The book is copiously illustrated and written with humor as well as expertise.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A major landmark contribution to fisheries science and fish ecology. Rockfish populations are in a severe decline throughout the Northeastern Pacific, and the need for a deep understanding of their biology, ecology, and management has never been more critical. This book addresses all aspects of our current knowledge of this diverse and interesting group of groundfish species, and it is written clearly and with humor. An outstanding work!"-Larry G. Allen, California State University, Northridge "Quite simply the best account ever of the fascinating, diverse, and valuable rockfishes. If you are interested in the marine fishes of the Pacific Coast, you need this book."-Peter B. Moyle, author of Inland Fishes of California

From the Inside Flap

"A major landmark contribution to fisheries science and fish ecology. Rockfish populations are in a severe decline throughout the Northeastern Pacific, and the need for a deep understanding of their biology, ecology, and management has never been more critical. This book addresses all aspects of our current knowledge of this diverse and interesting group of groundfish species, and it is written clearly and with humor. An outstanding work!"--Larry G. Allen, California State University, Northridge

"Quite simply the best account ever of the fascinating, diverse, and valuable rockfishes. If you are interested in the marine fishes of the Pacific Coast, you need this book."--Peter B. Moyle, author of Inland Fishes of California

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (September 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520234383
• ISBN-13: 978-0520234383
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #961,216 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprise! A well written and humorous tome on fish!!, June 7, 2005

By 

L. Lamberth "kelpgurl" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rockfishes of the Northeast Pacific (Paperback)

Rockfishes of the Northeast Pacific starts out with a laugh-out-loud intro, in which the editor sums up: "Why are we writing about rockfish? That's because rockfish are cool. ... " The first few chapters are a good intro for us non-scientific fish aficionados (yes, that's how it's spelled!). And the photos and artwork throughout the book are superb. I leave mine on my coffee table, it's so pretty, and I do refer to it frequently whenever I see a "new" (at least to me) variety of rockfish, which is a farily common occurrence while I'm scuba diving in my local Southern California waters.

I know other, more "scientific" readers have panned the book for lack of supporting data, etc. but as a layperson I didn't notice anything missing. My appreciation for/understanding of this important family of fishes is significantly enhanced by this book. And I'll say it again: it's actually a good read, as long as you are nutty enough to purchase a large book devoted to a single variety of fish. Like me.

Buy it, I think you'll like it!
kelpgurl

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much more than one can hope for...., July 28, 2003

By 

Paul Vecsei (Yellowknife, NWT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rockfishes of the Northeast Pacific (Paperback)

First of all, I am not a rockfish biologist. All my research is focused on sturgeons, but I have always had a "thing" for rockfish. I for one, feel this book represents the ultimate field guide. But unlike most field guides, it has a tremendous amount of information concerning each species as well as fisheries, stock trends etc.....
If you need more information on rockfish than what this volume provides, go look it up in a journal! That is what journals are for. This book does a great job in summing up the basic life history aspects and description of each species. Also worth mentioning is the fact that this is one heck of a beautiful book! The photos are good to great and the distribution maps are nicely done. In terms of overall layout, we can all learn much from this volume. BRAVO !!!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reference for divers, February 10, 2009

By 

John Estabrook (Newport, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Rockfishes of the Northeast Pacific (Paperback)

After reading this book I am now confident I can tell the difference between canary, vermilion and yelloweye rockfish. As a pacific northwest diver I see a lot of these and other rockfish. My other fish books seem to have the same or similar single, small picture of each fish. This book has 6 or 8 pictures of each fish showing them in various stages of life which is very important for rockfish. This book also covers a lot of fish missing from my other books.