Customer Reviews

Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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

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.

Over many years the authors learned just about everything that can be known about shrimp. In this book they pass along much of what they picked up through the years, including many interesting stories from fisherman. Facts about 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 proper 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 the net open vertically."

We learn that removing the "heads," by pinching, helps preserve the shrimp after it is caught by the shrimping boat. We also learn that shrimps can be preserved on the boat by boiling for a short time. Bait shrimp are harder to work with because they have to be kept alive.

There are some 4,000 species of shrimp.

Shrimp are being successfully raised in over 300,000 shrimp farms today, which are primarily located in Asia, Africa & the Middle East. Shrimp farming is a $20 billion business. Only 10% of all shrimp consumed in the U.S.come from domestic boats. The rest come from foreign farms & foreign boats.

Here is the evolution of my relationship with shrimp:

1. Ate them whenever possible.

2. Became aware of issues affecting the 7 species of sea turtles on this planet.

3. Became aware of SeaFood Watch and efforts to discourage take and purchase of non-sustainable and harmful ocean products.

4. Encourage folk to not purchase farmed shrimp from countries other than the US, to avoid all wild-caught shrimp from fishers not using TEDs, and to encourage consumption of wild-caught pink shrimp from Oregon as well as spot prawns from British Columbia.

Then came Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold, by Jack and Anne Rudloe.

Here's my summary of the book:

1. Shrimp are very interesting creatures, and many predatory fish (and people) like to eat them.

2. The Rudloes are more sympathetic to shrimpers than they are concerned about the extraordinary levels of bycatch waste (they don't call it "waste"... disingenuous), and they are simply not sympathetic to sea turtle conservation efforts.

3. The Rudloes note the impact on shrimp and shrimping from wetland and mangrove destruction, and the destructive side of shrimp farming.

4. They conclude with some very interesting notes on future uses of shrimp, not the meat, but the chitin (according to the authors, the most abundant organic fiber on earth after cellulose).

Interesting comments:

"Shrimp are amorous creatures that have been making more shrimp since the beginning of time" (p. 73). I have no idea what this means. Time since Creation? Time since life appeared on Earth? Time since humans appeared?

"Getting caught with shrimp before the opening results in a stiff fine, and violators risk having their boat confiscated by wardens. Poachers are frowned upon by the other shrimpers. But when a vessel is confiscated and sold, there's an unwritten rule that if anyone other than the original owner bids on the boat and wins, he may find his newly acquired vessel sunk at the dock" (p. 104). By who? The law-abiding shrimpers? Are the authors claiming that there are no law-abiding shrimpers?

"The crew of the Lady Murle was happy to see the two one-hundred-pound boxes of six-dollar-a-pound jumbo, even if they were embedded in a ton of bycatch... Ten thousand or more diverse fish, crabs, and other wonders of deep were shoveled through the scupper holes each time the catch was dumped on deck" (p. 115, 117). This never seemed to bother the authors, at all. But, for northern Pacific spot prawns, "Looking at the lack of bycatch, we had to agree with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's assessment that the northern pink shrimp trap fishery is one of the least damaging and most sustainable" (p. 134-135). More below.

"The shrimp boats were beautiful, graceful craft, with their nets raised and draped from the masts" (p. 150). Coast Guard boats, on the other hand, were machines with no personality, designed to enforce U.S. laws (p. 151). Notice a bias?

Here is a longer discussion of the issue of bycatch:

"Sea turtles were only the beginning of the shrimp industry's environmental problems. Environmental groups publicized the fact that for every pound of shrimp that reaches the table, nine to fifteen pounds of other dead and dying fish and invertebrates were shoveled over the side. No longer did the public view the romantic shrimp boats putting out to sea as a wonderful way of life. Suddenly they were seen as death mills that churned up and destroyed the bottom and left a wake of dead fish and sea turtles.

Life expires quickly on the deck of a shrimp boat when it's avalanched and crushed in the alien world of air. Seeing the eyes glaze over and life slip away is not easy. Squid and anchovies die quickly, while others, like stingrays, linger. In the wintertime, many of the fish make it back alive, but in the broiling heat of the summer, probably few survive.

Shrimpers say they're feeding the ocean; environmentalists counter they're disrupting the normal behavior of marine life and destroying the world" (p. 166).

It was these battles, and not shrimpers themselves, that were responsible for Turtle Excluding Devices (TED) and Bycatch Reduction Devices (BRD) being developed and utilized. And the Rudloe's write as if they are sympathetic to neither, although they write that "Shrimp boats and their gear can be redesigned to cut down on bycatch and save turtles" (p. 229).

Finally, the photos in this book were very underwhelming. The authors missed this visual opportunity to feature shrimp and shrimping.

This book did get me more interested in learning about the biology and harvesting of shrimp. Unfortunately, it seems that I need to go elsewhere for this information.

As a lifelong shrimp lover, I enjoyed this good introduction to the industry and history of shrimp. It's pleasant and breezy and the Rudloes clearly know their subject inside out. They're not stellar writers but they are solid and entertaining enough, and the book is a quick and easy read despite its length.

It was good to learn more about the wild vs farmed shrimp controversies, and now that BP has completely crushed the Gulf, the "dead zones" talked about here will be about 100,000 times bigger. The last remaining shrimpers discussed here will likely be almost gone next year, and I truly feel deep sadness for them, along with intense rage for the greed and disgusting behavior of BP, oil companies in general, and every one else who sees the oceans as a giant garbage dump. Our species is a pox on this planet: talk about bottom feeders! We take the cake.

I hope there's a new edition of this book next year, detailing the impact of the Gulf oil spill on shrimpers in a new chapter. But until then, if you love shrimp like I do, then you'll probably love this book too, and in years to come it will seem a deeply nostalgic look at a long-lost industry as we continue to fish the oceans to death.

I can only imagine how the Rudloes feel right now, and commend them for their efforts both in this book and in their lives to help save the oceans and the many fine creatures that live there.

At first I just thought the title of the book was funny, but soon I found myself engrossed in the natural and commercial history of my favorite delicious sea-bug. The authors have a light, engaging writing style that really drew me into the book, and, perhaps surprisingly, shrimp are a fascinating subject. Vignettes from the author's own experiences pepper the narrative and kept me both engrossed and entertained through what seemed initially like it should be dry reading; well done to this writer/biologist pair. I'd love to read more by them, and I'd especially love to know their take on the current Gulf oil spill's ramifications for the already-endangered shrimpers of that region.

One seldom sees books on Shrimp.

I am interested in seafood---its about all I want to eat.

I have books on Lobsters , and Oysters and got this one on shrimp.

This book is well put together in a physical sense.....but it just didn't do anything for me in its style.

Not quite a true scientific volume.

Not quite a novel like the lobster book.

Its in there somewhere---but I couldn't find it ! Maybe another reader can do where I failed.

This book combines many different themes about shrimp - - the biology of shrimp, the story of shrimping in the Gulf of Mexico, debates over turtle exclusion devices in shrimp nets in the US and abroad, some shrimp science, and the debates over shrimp farming. The authors have been (or are) shrimpers, scientists, and writers, so they are well qualified. But the book never quite jelled for me.

Part of the difficulty, I think, is that these different themes don't flow naturally into one another but remain too separate. Another issue is that the authors object to shrimp farming, especially shrimp farming in developing countries that undercuts American prices, without thinking consistently about what they dislike and why. Shrimp farming might be bad when it destroys coastal habitat but not if conducted on inland farms; and shrimp farming in poor countries are not bad if we approve of the exact same practice in the US.

The core of the book is, in essence, that Jack likes shrimping. He buys into the romance of fishing on a rough sea. He likes to eat fresh shrimp. (Anne is a marine biologist who appears less frequently in the book, so it's not clear what she thinks.) Jack's emotional connections with the subject make him a good story writer but weaken his analysis, and don't help him hold the various threads of the story together.

I was really looking forward to "Shrimp," because I have an absolute fascination for books that will give rich information about a subject that I have little to no knowledge of. But while "Shrimp" is strongly researched, and offers some excellent pieces of first-hand information regarding the shrimping industry, there's just something lacking about it. At times it felt as though the two authors weren't working particularly well together -- there is a choppiness to the writing, and the sections were definitely broken up between the writers, because some chapters have a completely different voice than others. There is also a certain oddness to the layout, where I think that an editor should've been stepping in and re-ordering chapters and information. Some things felt repetitious, while others felt poorly established. It's an odd book.

So while this won't be my favorite nature book, and it probably won't hold a permanent place on my shelf, it was very informative and I feel like I learned an incredible amount. I just didn't enjoy every minute, as I would, for example, with a Mary Roach book.