Striper Wars: An American Fish Story (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Captain John Smith, the first white man to explore and map the Chesapeake Bay, felt that "Heaven and earth have never agreed better to frame..." (more)
Key Phrases: striped bass study, haul seiners, juvenile stripers, New York, Rhode Island, Chesapeake Bay (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

oA lot of other books tell you how to catch striped bass. This book alone explains why there are stripers in the water to begin with. This is the saga of the greatest, most hard-won fisheries mangement success story in the world. Read it, and every time your line comes tight, youAEll know who to thank. More importantly, youAEll know what else needs to be done.o --Carl Safina

Product Description

When populations of striped bass began plummeting in the early 1980s, author and fisherman Dick Russell was there to lead an Atlantic coast conservation campaign that resulted in one of the most remarkable wildlife comebacks in the history of fisheries. As any avid fisherman will tell you, the striped bass has long been a favorite at the American dinner table; in fact, we've been feasting on the fish from the time of the Pilgrims. By 1980 that feasting had turned to overfishing by commercial fishing interests. Striper Wars is Dick Russell's inspiring account of the people and events responsible for the successful preservation of one of America's favorite fish and of what has happened since.

Striper Wars is a tale replete with heroes--and some villains--as the struggle to save the striper migrated down the coast from Massachusetts to Maryland. Russell introduces us to a postman at arms against a burly trap-net fisherman, a renowned state governor caving to special interests, and a fishing-tackle maker fighting alongside marine biologists. And he describes how champions of this singular fish blocked power plants and New York's Westway Project that would otherwise compromise its habitat. Unfortunately, those who cheered the triumphant ending to the campaign, as the coastal states enacted measures that enabled the striped bass to make its comeback, have found the peace transitory--there is now a new enemy emerging on the front.

In recent years a chronic bacterial disease has struck more than seventy percent of the striped bass population in the primary spawning waters of the Chesapeake Bay. Malnutrition seems to be a significant factor, brought on by the same overfishing that plagued the bass in the first battle--only this time, the overfishing is devastating menhaden, the silvery little fish upon which the bass feed. Lessons learned during the first conservation battle are being applied here, highlighting a need for a whole new ecosystem-based approach to conserving species.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (May 20, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559636327
• ISBN-13: 978-1559636322
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #768,064 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Striper Wars - story of bringing the striped sea bass back from the brink, November 19, 2007

By	Alan Holyoak (In the shadow of the Tetons) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Striper Wars: An American Fish Story (Paperback)

"Striper Wars" is extraordinary for two reasons. First of all, Russell does a great job of explaining the significance of Atlantic striped bass to recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen, and to the marine ecology of the Atlantic coast of North America. Second, Russell was not just a researcher who set out to tell the tale of a tasty fish, he was a significant player in the grassroots efforts that were eventually successful in helping to publicize the plight of the striped sea bass.

The book is sometimes not quite as tightly written as I would prefer, but the story is there, easy to follow, and adequately documented. I was astounded when I read that by the time federal legislative action was undertaken, that there was only one year class of stripers out there, and that if action had not been taken, that we may have witnessed the permanent demise of this notable fish.

"Striper Wars" will be of interest to legislators, sport and commercial fishermen (though the latter may not like the underlying theme), ecologists, and others who are interested in the state of the environment.

I read this book immediately after reading "The Most Important Fish in the Sea" by H. Bruce Franklin, and that is a powerful one-two combination.

I highly recommend both books!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stars & Stripes Forever, August 16, 2005

By	Arthur Dipietro (Westhampton Beach, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Combine well honed invesigative skills with the passion borne of a life long love affair with the sport of pursuing, catching, releasing, nurturing and learning from the noble Linesider and you have a read, courtesy of Mr. Russell, that anyone who cares about the continued health of the Striped Bass, its habitat and the continued reclamation of our coastal waters will tear through then pick up and read once again. Bravo!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Game Fish or Not? Read it and You Decide!, March 23, 2006

By	Montauk Dream'n (NE Coast) - See all my reviews

Excellent, comprehensive history of the fight to save this magnificent fish. If your a die hard striper fisherman, you should read this book. Also speaks to the present challenges facing the striper.