Random House Books for Young Readers The Ocean of Life: The Fate of Man and the Sea

The book is excellent. I checked out the book from our public library and found "The Ocean of Life" was such a good resource that I ordered a reference copy for myself from Amazon. Callum has another book titled: "The Unnatural History of the Sea" which describes the changes witnessed in the ocean over time and our 'Shifting Baselines' which we rate the ocean environment by what we see today. Unfortunately we underestimate the wealth of species and abundance due to our present viewpoint. When we can see what the ocean HAD to offer in the past and realize the extent of what we have lost, we can attempt to bring back some of the conditions and wealth of organisms seen in the past. We have been grossly underestimating and over exploiting the resources within our ocean environments for hundreds of years. It is imperative that we create replenishment zones in our world's oceans for the health of our planet and a resource for our use. The goal would be somewhere between 30-40 percent of our oceans closed to fishing and the allowance of the rebuilding of these environments from the bottom up. Trawl fishing should not be allowed in all environments due to the destruction of the bottom crusts that other animals and plants depend on. The great quantities of waste in the form of discarded dead by-catch needs to be greatly reduced. The ocean has been viewed as too large to be harmed, but we are finding this to be incorrect. We continue to over fish and degrade the ocean environment because it has been done this way in the past. We have the opportunity to allow recovery if areas are protected .

This is an important book because of its message. Written by Callum Roberts, Professor of marine conservation at the University of York, it's a plea to take notice of the huge risks and damage to the oceans, to realise that threats to them are threats to our way of life ... and to do something about it. Roberts starts by reminding us of "shifting baseline syndrome" - the fact each generation can be unaware it is witnessing an impoverished environment vis-a-vis the past. Roberts cites e.g., how the fish landed at Key West reduced in size during the 1950's-1980's, and how the catch landed from the North Sea has plummeted since 1890 in spite of huge technological advances. Some of the analysis is complicated, but, briefly Roberts talks of the 5 horsemen of the on-going apocalypse i.e., climate change, pollution, overkill (by fishing), invasive species, and habitat loss. For example, climate change brings temperature changes at a speed species may have difficulty adjusting to ... and increased CO2 levels that acidify the ocean. Pollution results inter alia in enormous plankton blooms, huge areas of floating debris trapped in oceanic gyres, and e.g., plastics entering the food chain. Fishing is on a scale, using methods, which have devastated and continue to devastate fish stocks and the submarine web of life. I was stunned by the atrocious statistics the author gives of collateral damage from long line fishing for mahi-mahi (near Costa Rica); to capture 211 mahi-mahi cost the lives of 468 olive ridley turtles, 408 pelagic stingrays, 413 silky sharks, 47 devil rays, 24 thresher sharks, 22 blue marlin, 34 striped marlin, etc.,. Callum Roberts says that though things will get worse for some years he is optimistic e.g., because man is flexible and inventive and because- in an environment where people are increasingly aware of the problems - Roberts has been pleased that it's proved possible to establish some marine reserves. For my money there are good grounds for being very worried. Perhaps it's true that global population will peak in mid-century, but the global economy is using more and more resources and climate change, acidification and pollution are not under control.

The book is not only greatly written, but also highlights the most recent scientific findings in marine biology, gives references for further reading and gives a great overview on all the current problems of the worlds oceans. It highlights the means necessary for conserving the oceans and all life in them and at the same time is easily understandable. An absolute recommendation for everyone who loves the sea!

.... Everybody must read this book, to be aware of what's going on in the Ocean... That is to say, in the Earth... Plus it is no brain racker, as the author puts understanding easy for laymen... There it is; don't use as an excuse afterwards you had no idea... ^o^

I teach a class on ecology, half of which is about marine ecology and the impact that humans have on the ecosystems that they depend on. I will be using this book as part of my class this year. I think it gives a really good overview of the biggest issues threatening the ocean today. As others have said, it is not a quick and easy read, but it is a good balance between the scientist who wants to put in every detail and citation and the writer who wants to make it accessible to people who are not experts. It is full of good and important information and I hope it will be widely read.