Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold [Hardcover]

Jack Rudloe (Author), Anne Rudloe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 21, 2009 | ISBN-10: 0137009720 | ISBN-13: 978-0137009725 | Edition: 1

The story of shrimp is as delicious as the creatures themselves. Renowned nature writers Jack and Anne Rudloe tell that story with passion, revealing a hidden history that has spanned millennia. You’ll discover the human stories and heritage behind centuries of shrimping, around the world; meet the most remarkable of the world’s 4,000 species of shrimp; come aboard ragged old shrimp boats, and spy on high-tech shrimp tanks; discover why shrimp may be a restaurant’s best friend, and a land speculator’s worst nightmare. You’ll meet people who love to eat shrimp, the fishermen who roam the seas catching them, and the aquaculturists who raise them in ponds, selling them more cheaply than fishermen ever could. You’ll gain powerful new insights into a conflict that’s as old as humanity itself: the conflict between hunter-gatherers and farmers. You’ll discover the vastness and diversity of both nature and humanity, as you travel from abandoned Mayan tombs to the California Gold Rush; from the heart of Cajun country to the English Channel. You will learn things you never imagined about microbiology and real estate, about economics and ecosystems. And, as you meet the people around the world who’ve caught, sold, cooked, and loved shrimp, you might just meet your own ancestors. Read this book, and you’ll never feel the same way about shrimp again: you’ll love it even more.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

It’s a common theme: a venerable American way of life is threatened by its own success. Local practitioners face cheap competition from other countries. Modern technologies make possible shortcuts that could ultimately spell disaster. We could be talking about virtually anything, but right now we’re talking about shrimp. This book, written by a veteran nature writer and a marine biologist explores the the past, present, and (possible) future of the shrimping industry. Shrimping dates back as far as 600 BCE; the modern shrimping industry began early in the twentieth century, when—no surprise here—technological advances enabled shrimpers to bring in mass quantities. But, as with any similar industry, shrimping is now in decline, with shrimpers facing stiff competition from companies shipping farmed shrimp to the U.S. from overseas. And, as with many similar industries, its survival in the future depends on a chancy mixture of government intervention, commercial concessions, and scientific breakthroughs. Think of the book as a small-scale reflection of a much larger reality. --David Pitt

About the Author

Jack and Anne Rudloe operate Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc.–a unique environmental education center and public aquarium that supplies marine organisms to schools and research laboratories–in Panacea, Florida. (See their web site at www.gulfspecimen.org.) Jack has spent years working on shrimp boats, participated in the International Indian Ocean Expedition and has made collecting trips for the New York Aquarium and the National Cancer Institute. He has written six highly acclaimed and widely reviewed nonfiction books on the sea. His novel Potluck, a story of shrimping and smuggling, has been called a Florida classic.

 

Anne Rudloe has published two nonfiction books, Priceless Florida and Butterflies on a Sea Wind–a book on Zen mediation–and has also written many scientific research papers. Together, Anne and her husband have published articles in National Geographic, Smithsonian, Sports Illustrated, Natural History, Audubon, and other magazines. They have been featured in several major television documentaries on PBS and Jack has been interviewed on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox Network, and National Public Radio. In addition to writing columns for the Tallahassee Democrat, Anne is also an adjunct professor at Florida State University.

 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: FT Press; 1 edition (December 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0137009720
• ISBN-13: 978-0137009725
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #481,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Natural Resources > Fisheries & Aquaculture

More About the Author

Jack Rudloe operates the popular Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratories, Inc. in Panacea, Florida,(www.gulfspecimen.org) a unique environmental education center and public aquarium that supplies marine organisms to schools and research laboratories. The lab had its roots with John Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday, and from the later 1950's to the early 1960's they corresponded. Mr. Rudloe has been featured in several major television documentaries on PBS and was interviewed on the four times on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America, Fox Network and National Public Radio. In 1963-1964 he participated in International Indian Ocean Expedition, and has made collecting trips for the New York Aquarium (capturing the Giant Sea Roach from the Gulf depths and the Suriname Toadfish) and the National Cancer Institute and has written six highly acclaimed and widely reviewed non-fiction books on the sea. His novel "Potluck", a story of shrimping and smuggling is regarded as a Florida panhandle classic. Together, with his wife Anne, they have published articles in National Geographic Magazine, Smithsonian, Sports Illustrated, Natural History, Audubon, and other magazines. Their most recent books are Chicken Wars (a novel about a divinely inspired rooster that leads a revolution and overthrows the chicken factory) and Shrimp, the Endless Quest for Pink Gold.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Run Forrest, Run!, June 5, 2010

By 

Jonathan Sabin (Ellenton, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I really like shrimp. Scratch that. No, I love shrimp. Boiled shrimp. Fried shrimp. Shrimp slathered with Sriracha and barbecued on skewers. Shrimp Scampi. Shrimp in lobster sauce. Shrimp cocktail.

Yeah, I'm starting to sound a little like Forrest Gump's friend Bubba from the movie, but the point is that I went into Jack Rudloe's book SHRIMP: THE ENDLESS QUEST FOR PINK GOLD thinking "how could I NOT like it?"

Since I'm at this point, the 38th reviewer of the book, there are plenty of descriptions of the book's content out there, so I'm not going to bore you by sharing details that others have already stated over and over, but what I'll say is this: The story would have made a terrific feature-length article in DISCOVER magazine.

Personally, the subject matter wasn't enough to hold my attention for the full 272 pages. There are page-turners where you keep reading because you are drinking in and savoring every last word. And then there are page turners where you're reading just hoping for it to be over.

But as I appear to be in the minority with regard to my opinion of this book, I'll concede that perhaps it's just me. :)

- Jonathan Sabin

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Stinky pink, December 19, 2010

By 

Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

No, Jonathan Sabin, it is not just you.

I love shrimp as well, although I stopped eating them decades back when I first learned of the enormous loss of marine life --- especially sea turtles of many endangered species --- every time a drag net draws shrimp from the sea floor. This book confirmed all that --- and more.

Still, the book is not well done. It leaps wildly from topic to topic, with no apparent rhyme or reason. Discussions of various shrimp types meander into prose on shrimp taste, and cooking methods, and then wander off into shrimp farms versus wild fisheries --- all in the space of a few pages. And then the book rocks through the same choppy sea of topics again pages, and chapters later. It's enough to make a reader seasick.

Apart from the serious organizational difficulties, the book is incredibly dull.

Worst of all, however, these two marine scientists appear totally indifferent to the need to save wildlife currently destroyed worldwide by shrimpers' drag nets. And they make no proposals on that front whatever.

I learned a few things from this book. One is that shrimping technology remains virtually unchanged outside the U.S. I do love shrimp. But sea life deserves worldwide protection, and does not get it from the global shrimping industry or foreign governments. Best thing is simply to continue with my long-held policy: not to eat it.

As for the book, overall, I would not recommend it either.

--- Alyssa A. Lappen

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A quick read, providing an overview of U.S. shrimp harvesting., February 1, 2010

By 

Tom Brody (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

SHRIMP by J. Rudloe and A. Rudloe is a 250 page book, containing a dozen or so black and white photos and a few diagrams. There is a ten page index. The authors, who are seasoned professionals in the field of marine biology, stick to what they know, namely facts that they learned from their own teaching and research, facts that can be learned by talking to people who work on shrimp boats, and facts from reading local newspapers, e.g., relating to government regulations, ecology, and whatnot.

The entire book is set forth in a chatty manner, depicting specific facts, in the manner of a diary. For example, we read, "The federal agencies had checked so many boats over the years that the shrimpers had almost grown used to being boarded by men in blue with their weapons . . . as Coast Guard Cutter #41319 zoomed away, Paul said, We try to accomodate them, and let them finish their tow, but sometimes . . . we ask them to lift their nets to we can make an inspection . . . we have to catch the man towing without a TED [turtle excluder device] to make a case." (page 155) In other words, the book reads a bit like a fiction book, but it is not a work of fiction.

Within the first few pages, we are introduced to a recitation of sea creatures that are brought up in the shrimping nets, including "trash" fish, e.g., blue crabs, spider crabs, calico crabs, croakers, catfish, bonnethead sharks, sea walnut jellyfish, and orange starfish. We learn about the proper behavior of shrimping nets, "If the net is let out properly so that the large doors spread apart . . . as they are towed. Floats at the top . . . hold it open vertically." (page 6) We learn that removing the "heads," which contains the brain, digestive gland, and gonads, by way of pinching, helps presever the shrimp after it is caught by the shrimping boat (page 12). We also learn that shrimps can be preserved on the boat by brief boiling. Page 16 provides a diagram of a shrimp, showing the cheliped, swimmerets, uropod, and telson. We are told that 4000 species of shrimp fall into various groups, e.g., penaeids (400 species), carideans (2800 species), and opossum shrimp (1,100 species) (these raise their young in pouches). Page 18 shows some photos from a microscope, disclosing shrimp eggs and larvae.

Chapter Three provides a hodge-podge of info on shrimp archeology, on the modern history of shrimping, on shrimp recipes (shrimp'n'grits), adn on shrimp festivals (Shrimp & Petroleum Festival in Louisiana). Chapter 4 provides short blurbs about various shrimp, e.g., needle shrmp, pistol shrimp ("it could cock that claw and blast out a high-pressure jet of water . . ."), penaeid shrimp ("stomachs which are lined with spines called stomach teeth . . . efficient at grinding"). This chapter also informs us of the bait shrimping industry (pages 61-72), which is a cottage industry of small opertions. Bait shrimping is more difficult than shrimping for human food, because bait shrimp must be kept alive.

The book provides juicy tidbits of local color, biology, shrimp industry facts, and government regulations. These tidbits are provided in small, juicy amounts that are just as small and juicy as the shrimps found in an open-air market shrimp cocktail. The book makes an ideal gift for a child, especially for kids living near a shrimping community. In fact, there is nothing in the book that makes it "objectionable" as a gift for kids. My only criticism is a follows. Near the beginning of the book, we are told that some U.S. companies buy shrimp that are raised in southeast Asia, and then put their own label on the package. But the topic of shrimp imports, and the topic of international shrimp economics, is never develped in this book.