Giant Bluefin

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Telling the story of one fisherman's passionate hunt for an elusive and valuable prey--the bluefin tuna--a look at the modern fisherman and his world reveals competition and camaraderie, and pressures of the conservationist movement to limit the harvest.

Hardcover: 241 pages

Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux (T); 1st edition (June 1995)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0374162085

ISBN-13: 978-0374162085

Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.8 x 8.5 inches

Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #791,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #19 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Field Guides > Fish #372 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Animals > Fish & Sharks #2110 in Books > Science & Math > Environment > Environmentalism

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it surprisingly engrossing. It introduced me to a whole other world, the world of commercial fishing, one I knew little about, a world filled with rivalries, friendships, a long history, a world I think most Americans don't appreciate. Though focusing primarily on the harpoon fishery of the giant bluefin tuna or "jumbo bluefin" (known by the scientific name of _Thunnus thynnus_) of New England waters, the author Douglas Whynott discusses fishermen who use other methods (such as trolling or using a purse seine) as well as problems that the fishing industry and that individual fishermen face in general as well as some topics in marine biology. The giant bluefin fishery is a lucrative market, with individual fish often worth $40 or more a pound (when fat after having feed all season on local prey fish), some fish bringing in at market prices as high as $50,000 per fish (though often much lower than that). The highest prices are obtained in Japan, where red tuna meat (maguro) is highly prized. Individual fish are packed in ice and air-lifted over to Japan, each specimen analyzed there at market in a method not unlike a raw diamond is regarded by professional jewelers so that the best cuts could be made, all so Japanese restaurant goers can pay upwards of $75 for a single serving of raw fish. Whynott relates how the bluefin tuna fishery has come a long way; the bluefin was once called the "horse mackerel" and worth a mere five cents a pound, generally being served as cat food. In fact in the early 20th century they were even thought to be poisonous and were primarily caught so that the fish could be boiled to produce lamp oil.

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