This American marine biologist provides startling revelations about the life of fishes (and many other species along the way) on almost every page of this documentary. Many of the species are unknown to me but the activities are related in a way that makes it easy to understand.
The chapter on the cleaner fishes and their clients is simply amazing with complex signalling, imposters, cheaters and some sense of justice and rule enforcement. Likewise, the chapter on fishes’ sex, with 32 different mechanisms, many deceptions, and oral sex in which a female swallows a mouthful of sperm for a rapid transit though her gastrointestinal tract while releasing eggs en route, producing a unique form of (transient) internal fertilization. Many, mostly male fishes raise their young in their mouths while coming close to starvation.
The problematic rise of fish farms is very depressing to read about, with many infections, a dependency on other fish for food and the artificiality of the environment.
His plea to cease recreational fishing seems to me to be the least compelling, perhaps because I enjoy it immensely. I only fly fish and almost always catch and release. I like to think that any pain a fish may experience on being caught is a lesson well learned and is compensated for by the relief of being set free.
“When fishes outperform primates on a mental task, it is another reminder of how brain size, body size, presence of fur or scales, and evolutionary proximity are wobbly criteria for gauging intelligence. They also illustrate the plurality and contextuality of intelligence, the fact that it is not one general property but rather a suite of of abilities that may be expressed along different axes.”
This book should be of interest, not only to fishermen, but to anyone who appreciates the extreme complexity of living nature.
9.5/10
Thanks, Bill.
The Passionate Reader 