Warning: The Sea Among Us, the Amazing Strait of Georgia is not a coffee table book despite the many gorgeous colour photos, maps and diagrams.
It’s a comprehensive compendium of information about this local body of water, and it will make great factual reading for environmentalists and skeptics alike.
The authors are Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane and they each contribute articles about fish and fisheries respectively (McFarlane co-authors with Jacquelynne King), while the whole is managed by Sunshine Coast-based Peter Robson.
The Sea Among Us gives 10 in-depth articles written by specialists in their fields; their credentials are listed prominently. There’s no off-the-cuff opinion within these factual articles, although the writers are given a chance to comment at the end of the book in an afterword called The Future. Without this prognosis from informed people, the book would fall short.
The first seven articles cover the basic geology and oceanography of the area and proceed with a description of the smallest organisms in the water, diatoms, through to descriptions of the largest, marine mammals. Human habitation is covered in the final three articles, starting with, as it is called, the pre-contact era, before Europeans met Aboriginal people.
Harbour Publishing has released this book at a time when the Strait has been threatened by supertankers and coal barges, ocean acidity and overfishing. A theme recurs in some of the articles — the abundance that once allowed First Nations people to flourish has been lost. As author Beamish points out during his commentary, “I think the best stewardship will come from an informed public.” This book should help.
All author royalties from the book are being donated to the Pacific Salmon Foundation, which is using the funds for a Salish Sea marine survival project on behalf of sustainable fisheries.
The hard cover book is available for $39.95, good value for its wealth of factual information and thought-provoking commentary.
