Cod: The Ecological History of the North Atlantic Fishery
The devastation of the North Atlantic cod stocks, particularly the tremendous stocks of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Grand Banks, has become an icon for the unsustainable relation between human exploitation and Nature. Here, George Rose tells the full story of that devastation, in scientific detail, for the first time – from the formation of the North Atlantic marine ecosystems to the massive stock declines in the last half of the 20th century. Politics and the fisheries are inextricably entwined. In Cod, Rose recounts the many political influences on the fisheries over several centuries and describes how neglect from the late 1800s onward led to insufficient scientific knowledge and little protection for the stocks when massive Euro-Russian fleets targeted the Grand Banks after World War II, destroying the greatest fishery the world has known. Cod is no armchair account, but a controversial one that includes original information on the North Atlantic fisheries.
George Rose is one of Canada’s best known and most respected fisheries scientists. He is widely considered to be the authority on the Newfoundland and Labrador cod fishery. He was born in St. John’s, then attended school in Ontario. He holds degrees in Fisheries and Wildlife Management from the University of Guelph, in biology from Laurentian University, and holds a doctorate in biology from McGill University. His main career interests have been in the fisheries of the North Atlantic and in world-wide conservation, particularly in Africa, on which he has published over 100 peer reviewed publications. He lives on Three Island Pond in Paradise, Newfoundland.
BMO Winterset Award-2008 The Heritage and History Book Award-2009 IPPY Awards, Gold Medal, Canada-East Best Regional Nonfiction-2008
