Princeton Public Library

Billion-dollar fish, the untold story of Alaska pollock, Kevin M. Bailey

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages [247]-263) and index

mapsillustrationsplates

index present

non fiction

Billion-dollar fish

bibliography

809911022

Kevin M. Bailey

the untold story of Alaska pollock

"Alaska pollock is everywhere. If you're eating fish but you don't know what kind it is, it's almost certainly pollock. Prized for its generic fish taste, pollock masquerades as crab meat in california rolls and seafood salads, and it feeds millions as fish sticks in school cafeterias and Filet-O-Fish sandwiches at McDonald's. That ubiquity has made pollock the most lucrative fish harvest in America--the fishery in the United States alone has an annual value of over one billion dollars. But even as the money rolls in, pollock is in trouble: in the last few years, the pollock population has declined by more than half, and some scientists are predicting the fishery's eventual collapse. Crucial to understanding the pollock fishery, he shows, is recognizing what aspects of its natural history make pollock so very desirable to fish, while at the same time making it resilient, yet highly vulnerable to overfishing. Bailey delves into the science, politics, and economics surrounding Alaska pollock in the Bering Sea, detailing the development of the fishery, the various political machinations that have led to its current management, and, perhaps most important, its impending demise. He approaches his subject from multiple angles, bringing in the perspectives of fishermen, politicians, environmentalists, and biologists, and drawing on revealing interviews with players who range from Greenpeace activists to fishing industry lawyers."--Amazon

Introduction : white gold fever -- A historical background : from an inexhaustible ocean to the three-mile limit -- Fishing the high seas : Japan and the Soviet Union develop the Alaska pollock fishery -- Americanization! : the rush for white gold and the developing fishery -- An empty donut hole : the great collapse of a North Pacific pollock stock -- Viking invasion : Norway's link to the pollock industry -- A new fish on the block : advancing knowledge of pollock biology -- A new ocean : changing concepts of ocean production and management of fisheries -- Factories of doom : the pollock fishing industry clashes with the environment -- All in the family : Olympic fishing and domestic strife in the industry -- Bridge over troubled water : tranquility after the American Fisheries Act -- Alaska pollock's challenging future