The Salmon The Extraordinary Story Of The King Of Fish

A fascinating journey into the extraordinary world of the king of fish: the salmon. This beautiful book explores the natural history of this most mysterious of fishes.

A fascinating journey into the extraordinary world of the king of fish: the salmon. This beautiful book explores the natural history of this most mysterious of fishes.

The salmon that symbolize the Pacific Northwest's natural splendor are now threatened with extinction across much of their ancestral range. In studying the natural and human forces that shape the rivers and mountains of that region, geologist David Montgomery has learned to see the evolution and near-extinction of the salmon as a story of changing landscapes. Montgomery shows how a succession of historical experiences -first in the United Kingdom, then in New England, and now in the Pacific Northwest -repeat a disheartening story in which overfishing and sweeping changes to rivers and seas render the world inhospitable to salmon. In King of Fish , Montgomery traces the human impacts on salmon over the last thousand years and examines the implications both for salmon recovery efforts and for the more general problem of human impacts on the natural world. What does it say for the long-term prospects of the world's many endangered species if one of the most prosperous regions of the richest country on earth cannot accommodate its icon species? All too aware of the possible bleak outcome for the salmon, King of Fish concludes with provocative recommendations for reinventing the ways in which we make environmental decisions about land, water, and fish.

"So begins Michael Wigan's fascinating journey into the extraordinary world of the king of fish. He explores the natural history of the salmon, this most mysterious of fishes that has fascinated man for centuries, evoking passion and adventure throughout the ages. He explores the life cycle of the salmon, weaving his own experiences and stories into an evocative narrative. Crucially, he addresses the pressing matter of conservation issues and human management, which in the past has led to fast decreasing populations. History suggests it is the pressure of human development which has narrowed down the survival zone of the salmon, and the author questions whether we can go on altering natural systems and freshwater rivers in order to make space for human populations, and do so in sync with fish needs." --Publisher's description.

WINNER OF THE JOHN AVERY AWARD AT THE ANDRÉ SIMON AWARDS If we can save the salmon, we can save the world Over the centuries, salmon have been a vital resource, a dietary staple and an irresistible catch. But there is so much more to this extraordinary fish. As international bestseller Mark Kurlansky reveals, salmon persist as a barometer for the health of our planet. Centuries of our greatest assaults on nature can be seen in their harrowing yet awe-inspiring life cycle. Full of all Kurlansky’s characteristic curiosity and insight, Salmon is a magisterial history of a wondrous creature. ‘An epic, environmental tragedy’ Spectator ‘These creatures have nurtured our imagination as surely as our bodies. This book does them justice!’ Bill McKibben

A stunning new voice in nature writing makes an epic journey along the Yukon River to give us the stories of its people and its protagonist--the king salmon, or the Chinook--and the deepening threat to a singular way of life, in a lyrical, evocative and captivating narrative. The Yukon River is 3,190 kilometres long, flowing northwest from British Columbia through the Yukon Territory and Alaska to the Bering Sea. Every summer, millions of salmon migrate the distance of this river to their spawning ground, where they go to breed and then die. The Chinook is the most highly prized among the five species of Pacific salmon for its large size and rich, healthy oils. It has long since formed the lifeblood of the economy and culture along the Yukon--there are few communities that have been so reliant on a single source. Now, as the region contends with the effects of a globalized economy, climate change, fishing quotas and the general drift towards urban life, the health and numbers of the Chinook are in question, as is the fate of the communities that depend on them. Travelling in a canoe along the Yukon River with the migrating salmon, a three-month journey through untrammeled wilderness, Adam Weymouth traces the profound interconnectedness of the people and the Chinook through searing portraits of the individuals he encounters. He offers a powerful, nuanced glimpse into the erosion of indigenous culture, and into our ever-complicated relationship with the natural world. Weaving in the history of the salmon run and their mysterious life cycle, Kings of the Yukon is extraordinary adventure and nature writing and social history at its most compelling.

Every spring, for thousands of years, the rivers that empty into the North Atlantic Ocean turn silver with migrating fish. Among the crowded schools once swam the King of Fish, the Atlantic salmon. From New York to Labrador, from Russia to Portugal, sea-bright salmon defied current, tide, and gravity, driven inland by instinct and memory to the very streams where they themselves emerged from gravel nests years before. The salmon pools and rivers of Maine achieved legendary status among anglers and since 1912, it was tradition that the first salmon caught in the Penobscot River each spring was presented as a token to the President of the United States. The last salmon presented was in 1992, to George W. Bush.That year, the Penobscot counted more than 70 percent of the salmon returns on the entire Eastern seaboard, yet that was only 2 percent of the river's historic populations. Due to commercial over harvesting, damming, and environmental degradation of the fish's home waters, Atlantic salmon populations had been decimated. The salmon is said to be as old as time and to know all the past and future. Twenty-two thousand years ago, someone carved a life-sized image of Atlantic salmon in the floor of a cave in southern France. Salmon were painted on rocks in Norway and Sweden. The salmon’s effortless leaping and ability to survive in both river and sea led the Celts to mythologize the salmon as holder of all mysterious knowledge, gained by consuming the nine hazelnuts of wisdom that fell into the Well of Segais. The President's Salmon presents a rich cultural and biological history of the Atlantic salmon and the salmon fishery, primarily revolving around the Penobscot River, the last bastion for the salmon in America and a key battleground site for the preservation of the species.

This beautiful and definitive guide brings together the world's lead leading expert on North American trout and salmon, Robert Behnke, and the foremost illustrator in the field, Joseph Tomelleri. North America is graced with the greatest diversity of trout and salmon on earth. From tiny brook trout in mountain streams of the Northeast, to cutthroat trout in the rivers of the Rockies, to Chinook salmon of the Pacific, the continent is home to more than 70 types of trout and salmon. How this came to be, how they are related, and what makes them unique -- and so breathtaking -- is the story of Trout and Salmon of North America. The more than 100 illustrations of trout and salmon by Joseph Tomelleri showcased here exhibit a genius for detail, coloration, and proportion. Each portrait is made from field notes, streamside observations, photographs, and specimens collected by the artist. The result is a set of the most accurate and stunning illustrations of fish ever created. Robert Behnke has distilled 50 years of his research and writing about trout and salmon in completing this book. No one understands better than Behnke the diversity and conservation issues concerning these fishes or communicates so lucidly the biological wonders and complexities of their particular beauty. Also included are more than 40 richly detailed maps that clearly show the ranges of populations of trout and salmon throughout North America. An irresistible delight for anyone who appreciates natural history, Trout and Salmon of North America is a master guide to the natural elegance of our native fishes.