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

Charles Clover (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2008

Ninety percent of the large fish in the world's oceans have disappeared in the past half century, causing the collapse of fisheries along with numerous fish species. In this hard-hitting, provocative exposé, Charles Clover reveals the dark underbelly and hidden costs of putting food on the table at home and in restaurants. From the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo to a seafood restaurant on the North Sea and a trawler off the coast of Spain, Clover pursues the sobering truth about the plight of fish. Along with the ecological impact wrought by industrial fishing, he reports on the implications for our diet, particularly our need for omega-3 fatty acids. This intelligent, readable, and balanced account serves as a timely warning to the general public as well as to scientists, regulators, legislators--and all fishing enthusiasts.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this devastating book, first published in Great Britain and now revised and updated for North American readers, Clover, environment editor of London's Daily Telegraph, shows that fishing with modern technology has put us just a hairsbreadth away from destroying entire ocean ecosystems. New England's fisheries have collapsed, the fish stocks of West Africa's continental shelf are overexploited, few cod are left in Newfoundland's Grand Banks, and, according to one study, 90% of the large fish in the ocean in 1950 have disappeared. Clover finds many people to blame, including trawlers with huge nets that destroy everything in their wake, incompetent scientists, dishonest governmental agencies, celebrity chefs with endangered species on their menus, and the general public, which pays no attention to how the fish it eats is obtained. He's especially critical of the European Union, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization and countries like Japan and Spain that persist in illegal fishing. Clover's hard-hitting approach will probably anger some, but his argument that we will soon run out of fish unless we take drastic measures—such as establishing huge no-take zones where fish stocks can recover—is persuasive. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Lyrical and scientific books about the marine-life crisis exist, including works by Carl Safina and Richard Ellis, but to really grab people's attention there's nothing like the dispatches of a good investigative reporter. British environmental journalist Clover covers it all, from destructive high-tech fishing techniques to the regulations meant to protect fish species, the nearly universal practice of hauling in and selling illegal catches, and the snarled politics that hamper ocean conservation efforts. Clover, conversant, cogent, and refreshingly blunt, cites statistics that reveal the loss of 90 percent of the earth's preindustrial fish population due to overfishing, explains why "the conservation of wild fish is a human health issue as well as an environmental one," and cites the problems with fish farming. He even takes restaurants to task for serving "the marine equivalent of the panda, the rhino, and the great apes," and provides lists of fish to avoid and those you can eat "with a clear conscience." Healthy ocean ecosystems are our birthright, Clover declares, and "the time has come to change the laws of the sea so that they are more like the laws of the land." Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (March 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520255054
• ISBN-13: 978-0520255050
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #430,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you love eating fish, you should buy this book! July 25, 2006

By A. Dominguez Burgos

Format:Paperback

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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "The maritime equivalent of Silent Spring"?...perhaps so July 16, 2009

By Alan Holyoak TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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. Read more ›

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Informative... A Must-Read! January 3, 2007

By Corrie A. Borges

Format:Hardcover

"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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for anyone who wants to know about the state of our world fishery resources June 5, 2007

By Joseph A. Cavanaugh

Format:Hardcover

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The End of the Line June 1, 2010

By Bjorn I. Thornberg

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: "End of the Line" February 8, 2010

By D. Dow

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.