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Unnatural History of the Sea

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Unnatural History of the Sea

By: Callum M. Roberts
Narrated by: Callum M. Roberts
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About this listen

Humanity can make short work of the oceans' creatures. In 1741, hungry explorers discovered herds of Steller's sea cow in the Bering Strait, and in less than 30 years, the amiable beast had been harpooned into extinction. It's a classic story, but a key fact is often omitted. Bering Island was the last redoubt of a species that had been decimated by hunting and habitat loss years before the explorers set sail.

©2007 Island Press (P)2007 Island Press Animals Biological Sciences Biology Ecosystems & Habitats Environment Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Politics & Government Science Conservation Habitat Polar Region

Critic reviews

"Thoughtful, inspiring, devastating, and powerful, Roberts' comprehensive, welcoming, and compelling approach to an urgent subject conveys large problems in a succinct and involving manner. Readers won't be able to put it down." ( Booklist)
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Learning about slavery and colonisation of other countries made me ashamed to be white and European, thus book made me ashamed to be human. I shed a tear when I learned how humans have ravaged the seas for their own gain, only thinking of short term profit.

It makes for pretty depressing reading for the more sensitive of us (me). As a pescatarian, I've now made the decision to go full veggie unless the fish are from a sustainable source.

The book itself was for me pretty hard going, it began very well but lost me a bit half way. I'm glad I continued though because it ended spectacularly. It's left me pretty emotional though.

I wish I knew how to help end the ravaging of the seas, but even reading thus book and being aware of the destruction is a start. A massive eye opener, a heartbreaking tale.

A must read.

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A brilliant piece of research with fascinating accounts of what fisheries were once like, and how they have come to be biggest force of transformation leading to the collapse of many fisheries, destruction of habitat and extinction of species. This book will change your understanding of fisheries, man and the sea.

Unparalleled account of the demise of fisheries

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Don't know what possessed him to do that, 🤣
Great book otherwise, would recommend the print version anyway

Narrator's accents when reading quotes are awful

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Lets hope common sense will prevail and we can save our oceans. Marine reserves and other measures can benefit everyone on the planet including the fishing industry!

Lets spread the word

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Informative, entertaining, inspiring work by Roberts, meticulously researched and presented, concludes with calls for reform to global fishing and the need for 30% marine reserves.

Informative, entertaining, inspiring work by Roberts, meticulously researched and presented, concludes with calls for reform.

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