Giant Bluefin - ISBNLookup.com

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The world's largest finfish, the bluefin tuna can grow to 10 feet and weigh 1500 pounds. It is a favorite with the Japanese, and a single fish has brought $42,000 (a piece of sushi in a Tokyo restaurant can cost $75). Whynott (Following the Bloom) takes us through two seasons of bluefin harpoon fishing off the New England coast from Cape Cod to Maine. He introduces Bob Sampson of Barnstable, whose family has lived and fished on Cape Cod since colonial times. Many bluefin fishermen, Sampson included, use spotter planes; Whynott goes out with one pilot. He observes the catch by Sampson's and other boats and details the route from dockside to the Tokyo fish market. In 1992, environmental groups attempted to limit the catch; fishermen argued that population stocks were plentiful. Whynott has written a fascinating story of the bluefin and the Cape Cod fishermen. (June)

Library Journal

Bluefin tuna, highly prized by the Japanese for sushi and sashimi, are caught by harpoon by New England fishers in the Gulf of Maine. The boats work in tandem with pilots flying overhead, who spot the presence and position of schools of fish. Whynott (English, Mount Holyoke Coll.) spent time with fishers and pilots working out of Cape Cod to become familiar with all aspects of the bluefin tuna fishery, including tuna physiology, marketing economics, and the efforts of conservation interests to limit the catch. Although it may appeal only to a limited audience, this is a beautifully written account full of human interest about the lives of the spotter pilots and several members of a fishing family. Appropriate for specialized collections and for public libraries in fishing communities.-Judith B. Barnett, Pell Marine Science Lib., Univ. of Rhode Island, Kingston

Booknews

Bluefin tuna are the largest finfish in the ocean and the fishermen who harpoon them, one at a time, lead a traditional, athletic, even heroic life, according to Whynott. The author spent two seasons in the company of a 47 year-old Cape Cod harpooner and tells the story of his "passionate hunt for his noble and elusive prey," as well as the struggle between the fishermen and conservationists. No scholarly trappings. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)