Overfishing What Everyone Needs to Know: What Everyone Needs to Know(r)

Before reading this book I thought overfishing had a singular definition, but Ray Hilborn shows us that there are many definitions for overfishing, depending on which criteria you apply.Written in a Q&A style, this book is neither a dry, academic, tome or a tub-thumping, environmentalist vision of an oceanic apolcolypse, but lays out the issues in an easy to digest form.Looking at the global fisheries industry, Ray Hilborn's experience and expertise are clearly evident on every page, covering a wide spectrum of topics, from historical overfishing to illegal fishing, from economic overfishing to marine protected areas.If you are looking for a clear, concise book on the causes and effects of, and possible solutions to, overfishing, I would highly recommend this one.

This is a timely introduction to one of the most high profile and intractable problems in the management of natural resources, designed for the general reader. The underlying theme of the first three chapters is overfishing and recovery of fisheries. The next three chapters deal with key factors involved, including management, levels of fishing effort generated by development pressures, and climate. There follows systematic evaluation of types of fisheries - mixed, High Seas, deep water, recreational, and small scale and artisanal. Particular impacts are then dealt with, including illegal fishing,trawling, Marine Protected Areas, and ecosystem impacts. The book concludes with an assessment of the current status of overfishing. Particular strengths of the book include a clear, accessible style, short chapters, subhead themes often expressed as questions, and highly selected further reading organised by chapter.

purchased this book for an assignment i received at uni, provided a great deal of information on the dangers of over fishing. id recommend this book to anyone studying marine biology or anyone who has an interest in over fishing

Ray Hilborn is one of the most respected fisheries scientists in the world and is unusual in that he has not jumped on the gloom/doom bandwagon funded by various international NGOs. Here he presents a lucid and balanced view of fisheries based on decades of experience in the field. His opinion is generally that while there are and have been problems, the fishing industry is getting its house in order. He points out that if we take fish out of the sea there will be fewer than there would be if we did not. Effective fisheries management needs to get the balance between impact and extraction correct. He suggests that eating fish is more environmentally friendly than eating beef, dairy products or lamb and points out the damage that farming does to land in terms of biodiversity loss is greater than that of any fishing activity. The book is written in such a way that anyone interested in the issues around fisheries, from lay-person to scientist will enjoy reading it. The text is uncluttered by the usual referencing style of scientific writing but there is an extensive, chapter by chapter, further reading section at the end of the book.