Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish | 
| Author: G. Bruce Knecht
Publisher: Rodale Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $3.29
You Save: $21.66 (87%)
New (35) Used (39) Collectible (2) from $1.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 309559
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 328
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 1594861102
Dewey Decimal Number: 363.25933
EAN: 9781594861109
ASIN: 1594861102
Publication Date: May 2, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: New book.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This modern pirate yarn has all the makings of a great true adventure tale and is also an exploration of the ways our culinary tastes have all manner of unintended consequences for the world around us.
Hooked is a story about the poaching of the Patagonian toothfish (known to gourmands as Chilean Sea Bass) and is built around the pursuit of the illegal fishing vessel Viarsa by an Australian patrol boat, Southern Supporter, in one of the longest pursuits in maritime history.
Author G. Bruce Knecht chronicles how an obscure fish merchant in California "discovered" and renamed the fish, kicking off a worldwide craze for a fish no one had ever heard of - and everyone had to have. And with demand exploding, priates were only too happy to satisfy our taste for Chilean Sea Bass. Knecht - whose previous book The Proving Ground was hailed by Walter Cronkite as "a sailing masterpiece...a tale more thrilling than fiction"—captivates readers by deftly shifting among the story’s nail-biting elements: The perilous chase at sea through frenzied winds, punishing waves, and an obstacle course of icebergs; the high-stakes environmental battle and courtroom drama; and the competitive battle among the world’s restaurants to serve the perfect, flaky, white-fleshed fish.
From the world’s most treacherous waters to its most fabulous kitchens, Hooked is at once a thrilling tale and a revelatory popular history that will appeal to a diverse group of readers. Think Kitchen Confidential meets The Hungry Ocean.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
 THE WORLD'S FISH MARKET IN CRISIS July 10, 2008
It's no secret that the world's fish market is in rapid decline. The 6.8 billion people who share our planet eat a lot of fish, consuming more than nature supplies in the world's oceans. In Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish, author G. Bruce Knecht tells a fascinating story about the illegal quest for a rapidly disappearing fish, and the frantic attempts of one nation to bring one fishing boat of poachers to justice. Knecht brings to light the enormous impact commercial fishing has on the world's fish population, and the complexity of attempts to regulate the careless emptying of the sea.
The reader is taken on a chase through Antarctica waters as Australian fisheries officials attempt to stop and bring to justice a boatload of rogue fisherman with holds filled with Patagonian toothfish taken in Australian fishing waters. The antagonists battle icebergs, gigantic frozen seas, and gale winds as they attempt to outmaneuver each other, both sides convinced of the merits of their position and unwilling to submit to the other. The pursuit is one of the longest ever recorded in maritime history, and in a frigid area of the world where even normal oceangoing operations are fraught with danger.
Knecht also introduces us to the Patagonia toothfish, known as Chilean Sea Bass in the world's restaurants, whose ocean population has been decimated by the public's voracious appetite for a different seafood dish. Suppliers have scrambled to fill chefs' increasing orders for a fish that brings big profits to restaurant owners and in doing so have created international chaos in the fishing industry. Who can fish where and for how many fish are never ending questions with unsatisfactory answers. So the Patagonia toothfish joins cod, salmon, tuna, swordfish and other desirable fish with less than 10 percent of the numbers that swam just 50 years ago.
This is a non-fiction book of many elements. It combines a crime story with a nautical theme, complete with innovative investigation, hot pursuit, and courtroom drama. If that's not enough excitement, the book takes a serious look at an international problem. Public and governmental inaction with regards to our oceans and their bounty does not bode well for future eating habits when we may be reduced to eating "jelly fish sandwiches" and "plankton soup" as Knecht quotes renowned researcher Daniel Pauly in Hooked.
Quick information on current fishing practices. April 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Quick reading. Great. Need to purchase and share with you fish eating friends. Open everyone's eyes.
Fascinating cautionary tale February 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book reads like an adventure story. Unfortunately, the message is not optimistic. Short of a worldwide effort to stop illegal fishing in order to prevent the total destruction of a species, I doubt that anything can be done (although the example of porpoise-safe tuna fishing might be one way.) I had difficulty putting this book down.
An Exciting Read, Great Environmental Message. December 7, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Even if one doesn't care about the plight of marine species like Chilean Seabass this book makes a great read! It is a thrilling good guy bad guy story taking place in a desolate part of the world. It also very informative and insightful regarding Marine Conservation.
Wonderful Book! November 20, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a wonderful book and a great read that you won't want to put down until you finish!
|
|
|
