Every chapter is full of interest and examples of day-to-day fishing malpractices that illustrate so well the environmental madness that dominates this industry and the self-interest of those who form fishing policy. We are left in no doubt that the EU is one of the worst offenders. Did you know that it is estimated that about half the cod and haddock landed in the UK falls outside the fishing quotas, i.e. is stolen from you and me?

Charles Clover also puts forward well-argued case for allocating fishing rights for areas of ocean to escape from the "Tragedy of the Commons".

If you have an environmental conscience, you should read this book - and you'll probably adjust your fish buying habits. (See Andrew Marr's review quotes on the cover)


Mixed feelings   August 5, 2005
 4 out of 7 found this review helpful

It's very difficult with a book like this to disentangle the message from the writing. The message, "if we keep fishing like this we will eventually have no fish; and it's all down to human greed", is a good one that should be rung out everywhere. The quality of the writing, however, doesn't match up to the quality of the message. It wanders on seemingly without direction just going on and on and on. Whatsmore the conclusion is just a bit of a damp squib: so what can I do about it? A couple of pages of unheedable advice, that's all. You will not find the writing - nor the message - very enjoyable.

For a very practical alternative try: Marine Conservation Society Good Fish Guide: The Ultimate Consumer Guide to Eating Eco-friendly Fish. That answers the 'what can I do about it' and funds an organisation trying to do something about it.

Also try Empty Ocean, which looks a better alternative to this book.


A look at the real Captain Birds Eye   July 14, 2005
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I first heard about this book on BBC Radio 4's 'Start The Week' where Andrew Marr described it as one of the few recent books that had left him feeling furious. Marr was spot on. This book sets out clearly the full ruthless horror that is industrial fishing and the irreversible damage it has been inflicting on the world's seas. How many of us know anything of modern fishing and still think of fishermen as quaint and harmless Captain Birds Eye? The seas and their increasingly desperate situation have gone largely unnoticed compared to land based farming and the state of our countryside. Hopefully this book will be a marine version of 'Silent Spring' and help bring about some form of solution. But as the book shows, solving this situation will be no easy task when faced with the comic nightmare that is the political, bureaucratic, commercial and scientific system trying to manage the seas and fishing. The book ends with a helpful guide to choosing which fish are okay to eat and those fish for which the situation is increasingly bleak and should therefore be avoided at all costs. The book is very accessible and written by the Daily Telegraph's environment editor. A must for anybody concerned with the state of our world's environment.