In this age of abundant information, Richard Ellis proves that there is still more of it, boatloads more, to be harvested from our troubled oceans. In "Tuna," one foreboding fact is heaped on another, interspersed with snippets of sorrowful detail, all pointing to -- where else? -- the brink.
But what are we to do with this information, this sea of particulars about bad times getting worse out beyond the beach where the purse-seiners and long-liners and trophy sportsmen and harpooners hunt for fish individually worth more than a Porsche?
Alas, this is not an easy matter to discern -- not for us, not for our nation, not for the planet's ever-expanding human population. Not for Ellis either.
He subtitles this book "A Love Story." The words reflect his feelings for these mighty blue-water creatures -- the bluefin, bigeye, skipjack, albacore and yellowfin. But a more accurate description of this volume would be, "Tuna: Another Overfishing Tragedy." Or maybe just "Goodbye, Old Friend."
I am not a fan of these kinds of books. They add to the day's gloom, and they reinforce our sense of helplessness. I do admire Ellis' enthusiasm for the mega creatures of our oceans. A researcher and painter, he knows his stuff. And this is only the latest in his collection of information-rich, gee-whiz books on the marine world.
But learning that tuna spawn only in 75- to 79-degree water does not make it any more inviting to plunge into the lurid story of their impending demise.
The futility of this journalistic approach can be illustrated in a visit to an elementary school. By the time students reach third grade, or maybe fourth, they have a pretty fair grasp of what's up in the world: Our planet is getting hotter by the year; resources are lagging behind demand; we're cutting down the forests; the air is toxic; animals are going extinct; and the oceans are sick.
Young people wear appropriately long faces as they describe matters. And they know whom to blame. But ask them what they want when they grow up and they brighten: They want the latest fancy clothes, sprawling houses, diamond studs, limos, private jets, glamorous parties, wealth and fame.
In other words, they want the unsustainable consumptive lifestyle that dooms the tuna (or substitute your favorite alternative, the shark, the wolf, the tiger, breathable air, glaciers etc.).
