The cover of the new 2nd edition (ISBN 9781550174717, paper, 354pp)
As a relative newcomer to Alaska's shores (a mere four years), I am all too often reminded of how little I know about most of the marine life that I see on beach walks, tide pool excursions, fishing trips or, on those few occasions when I actually look, underwater. Much of my recent Alaskan marine education has been very kindly provided by our outstanding husbandry staff at the Alaska SeaLife Center. Our incredibly knowledgeable team of aquarists, particularly Richard Hocking and Jared Guthridge have patiently walked me through the nuances of fish life in the Gulf of Alaska.
There is still work to be done though and so I am most grateful to have recently acquired the newly released second edition of Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest by Andy Lamb and Phil Edgell. Coastal Fishes has just been republished in Canada and is fully updated and expanded. Every fish is illustrated by a labelled drawing and superb underwater photos - featuring contributions by Nate Chambers from our Exhibits team. I especially appreciated the many photos that show juvenile and adult life stages - they will really help me improve my identification of sculpins and other species that I currently find particularly confusing.
Another feature that many users will find helpful is a series of icons that target information for the different "fish stakeholders" - scuba divers, anglers, seafood fanciers, etc. This really is a book with wide appeal.
So Richard - next time I misidentify one of the rockfish in our aquaria, you'll finally be able to refer me for some taxonomically correct, and throughly enjoyable, "remedial reading"!
No comments:
Post a Comment