Book Review

by Paul Ganderton

Geoffrey Moore and Simon Jennings (eds). 2000. Commercial Fishing: the wider ecological impacts Blackwell Science; Pages: v + 66; ISBN: 0 632 05608 8; £9.95

Contents

1 - Commercial fishing: the wider ecological impacts; 2 - Fishing gears and their operation; 3 - Effects of litter from fishing gear, 4 - Vulnerability of different marine habitats; 5 - Effects on non-target organisms; 6 - Community and ecosystem responses; 7 - Conservation aspects and the way forward.

Summary

See description of this table.

Age range
Presentation/style
Content
Literature
Originality
Overall ranking

Review

As readers will be aware, this is one of the BES publications aimed at younger ecologists. Thus rather than outline the case it puts forward perhaps it would be better to ask if it works! Commercial fishing is an emotive issue through news and television broadcasts. It has been a central conservation plank of many of the pressure groups. It follows that any work in this area must be put carefully to avoid the many pitfalls in discussing emotive issues. The text starts well with a good overview which manages to highlight the key points well. The chapters follow each other with a clear, logical pattern. There are a few diagrams (more would be welcome) and the writing style is usually easy to follow.

I tested this text with an average group of senior school students (Australia having been no more successful than Europe in conserving its fish stocks!). There were several fishers in the group and a fair bit of knowledge. The text managed to both sort out a way forward whilst still holding the interests of the fishers with their high degree of practical knowledge. It provided discussion and concepts such as by-catch (a less commonly known concept) were well regarded. Overall, an excellent start much appreciated by this audience. A definite value-for-money text for the school library.