The Most Important Fish in the Sea

Menhaden and America

H Bruce Franklin author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Island Press

Published:7th Oct '08

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The Most Important Fish in the Sea cover

This is the story of a once abundant fish decimated by corporate interests.In this brilliant portrait of the oceans' unlikely hero, H. Bruce Franklin shows how menhaden have shaped America's natural - and national - history, and why a single company now threatens their crucial ecological mission. The same pudgy little fish that once saved the Pilgrims from starvation and helped power the industrial revolution are today being ground up by the billions and turned into everything from linoleum to lipstick. The massive harvest isn't just devastating one fish, but the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In Franklin's vibrant prose, the menhaden's decline becomes an adventure story, an exciting exploration of American history, and an inspiring call to action.

"Franklin's book on the runty menhaden is a killer whale achievement." - BALTIMORE SUN "Franklin's prose is lucid and infused with an urgency that depends little on hyperbole and largely on careful documentation. His compelling narrative informs and enlightens." - WASHINGTON POST "An optimistic book.... Perhaps this story will have a positive ending; H. Bruce Franklin's fascinating account makes us look forward to that." - DANIEL PAULY IN SCIENCE "A knock-out fish story." - PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER"

ISBN: 9781597265072

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 345g

280 pages