Your Informative (and Entertaining!) Guide to Fly Fishing Fly fishing is a wonderful way to catch fish, and it is much simpler than you might think. More and more people are using this thrilling technique to catch trout, bluegill, sailfish, and more. You can count yourself among them. It just takes the right equipment, a little bit of know-how, and some practice. If you've never tried because you heard it's "too hard," then you are missing out! In Thrasher's Fly Fishing Guide, professional fly fisher Susan Thrasher provides an all-in-one resource to get you on the water and fly fishing with success. Inside You'll Find: Introduction to the basics, including terminology and equipment Discussion of various methods, from dry fly fishing to Euro nymphing Personal stories and anecdotes to entertain and encourage Advanced tips, such as fly fishing from a kayak and understanding various fly line designs Recommendations on lodging, guides, and nearby activities for destination trips Whether you've never hooked a fish or have spent your whole life casting a fly to that elusive brown trout, you'll enjoy Thrasher's engaging writing style, and you'll appreciate her step-by-step approach that can take you from "never tried" to "let's go again tomorrow!"

This is a tale of human obsession, one intrepid tuna, the dedicated fisherman who caught and set her free, the promises and limits of ocean science and the big truth of how our insatiable appetite for bluefin transformed a cottage industry into a global dilemma. In 2004, an enigmatic charter captain named Al Anderson caught and marked one Atlantic bluefin tuna off New England’s coast with a plastic fish tag. Fourteen years later that fish – dubbed Amelia for her ocean-spanning journeys – died in a Mediterranean fish trap, sparking Karen Pinchin’s riveting investigation into the marvels, struggles, and prehistoric legacy of this remarkable species. Over his fishing career Al marked more than sixty thousand fish with plastic tags, an obsession that made him nearly as many enemies as it did friends. His quest landed him in the crossfire of an ongoing fight between a booming bluefin tuna industry and desperate conservation efforts, a conflict that is once again heating up as overfishing and climate change threaten the fish’s fate. Kings of Their Own Ocean is an urgent investigation that combines science, business, crime, and environmental justice. As Pinchin writes, ‘as a global community, we are collectively only ever a few terrible choices away from wiping out any ocean species.’ Through her exclusive access and interdisciplinary, mesmerizing lens, readers will join her on boats and docks as she visits tuna hot spots and scientists from Portugal to Japan, New Jersey to Nova Scotia, and glimpse, as the author does, rays of dazzling hope for the future of our oceans.

This new field guide is a complete and convenient reference to every species of cetacean, pinniped and sirenian in the world, along with the Marine and Sea Otters and the Polar Bear. Every species is illustrated with magnificent colour paintings and a stunning collection of photographs, chosen to illustrate the key field marks which can be used to separate each species in the field. The author's unique depth of experience and knowledge, coupled with the artist's unrivalled skill, have come together to produce a neat, practical field guide that will enable any observer to quickly identify any mammals they may encounter at sea.

Go Fishing with Minnesota's Famous Identification Guide! Fishing is a perfect outdoors activity for all ages and skill levels, and the Land of 10,000 Lakes is an angler's paradise. Reel in fish, and make identifying your catches a snap. Now in its second edition, the Fish of Minnesota Field Guide by Dave Bosanko features detailed information about 81 species of Minnesota fish. When you're not sure what you caught, grab the handy guide and narrow your choices by family. Then identify your prize with the intricately detailed fish illustrations. Further verify the type of fish using the "Similar Species" comparisons. Book Features: Detailed information about 81 species Professional-quality illustrations-perfect for fish identification Fascinating facts on spawning behavior, feeding habits, and more Fishing tips and inside information for easily locating fishing hotspots Bonus resources such as state fishing records and answers to frequently asked questions This new edition includes updated information about everything from range to state records, as well as the inclusion of six new species. A new section on fishing tips offers pointers to help you catch more fish, and more information on invasive species can help prevent their spread. The Fish of Minnesota Field Guide is essential for every tackle box, beach bag, RV, and cabin. Plus, its convenient size makes it perfect for the dock or boat.

'Sy Montgomery's The Soul of an Octopus does for the creature what Helen Macdonald's H Is for Hawk did for raptors' New Statesman 'Charming and moving...with extraordinary scientific research' Guardian 'An engaging work of natural science... There is clearly something about the octopus's weird beauty that fires the imaginations of explorers, scientists, writers' Daily Mail In 2011 Sy Montgomery wrote a feature for Orion magazine entitled 'Deep Intellect' about her friendship with a sensitive, sweet-natured octopus named Athena and the grief she felt at her death. It went viral, indicating the widespread fascination with these mysterious, almost alien-like creatures. Since then, Sy has practised true immersion journalism, from New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, pursuing these wild, solitary shape-shifters. Octopuses have varied personalities and intelligence they show in myriad ways: endless trickery to escape enclosures and get food; jetting water playfully to bounce objects like balls; and evading caretakers by using a scoop net as a trampoline and running around the floor on eight arms. But with a beak like a parrot, venom like a snake, and a tongue covered with teeth, how can such a being know anything? And what sort of thoughts could it think? The intelligence of dogs, birds and chimpanzees was only recently accepted by scientists, who now are establishing the intelligence of the octopus, watching them solve problems and deciphering the meaning of their colour-changing camouflage techniques. Montgomery chronicles this growing appreciation of the octopus, but also tells a love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about consciousness and the meeting of two very different minds.

This is an invitation to readers to ponder universal questions about human relations with rivers and water for the precarious times of the Anthropocene. The book asks how humans can learn through sensory embodied encounters with local waterways that shape the architecture of cities and make global connections with environments everywhere. The book considers human becomings with urban waterways to address some of the major conceptual challenges of the Anthropocene, through stories of trauma and healing, environmental activism, and encounters with the living beings that inhabit waterways. Its unique contribution is to bring together Australian Aboriginal knowledges with contemporary western, new materialist, posthuman and Deleuzean philosophies, foregrounding how visual, creative and artistic forms can assist us in thinking beyond the constraints of western thought to enable other modes of being and knowing the world for an unpredictable future. Riverlands of the Anthropocene will be of particular interest to those studying the Anthropocene through the lenses of environmental humanities, environmental education, philosophy, ecofeminism and cultural studies.

Much can be learned about the condition of the planet’s environment by looking at sea turtles. They have existed for over 100 million years, and they travel throughout the world’s oceans. Suddenly, however, they are struggling to survive - largely because of things people are doing to the planet’s oceans and beaches. But what does this mean for the human species? It is possible that a world in which sea turtles cannot survive may soon become a world in which humans struggle to survive. If, however, we learn from our mistakes and begin changing our behaviour, there is still time to save sea turtles from extinction. In the process, we will be saving one of the earth’s most mysterious and time-honoured creatures. We might just be saving ourselves too. South Africa has played an active role in this, protecting its own seaturtle populations and researching turtle populations in neighbouring countries. An early pioneer in conservation techniques, South Africa has assisted many countries and researchers, and the sea turtles of south-east Africa are now extensively protected, with positive signs of recovery. Between the Tides tells this remarkable story, as seen through the eyes of the author, whose interest in sea-turtle research has taken him all over the world and involved him in exciting expeditions, scientific controversy, political unrest, the companionship of wonderful people, both scientific and conservationist, and survival by sheer luck. His lasting reward has been his association with beautiful beaches and the wonderful family of sea turtles.

Rising at 11,750 feet in the Sangre de Cristo range and snaking 926 miles through New Mexico and Texas to the Rio Grande, the Pecos River is one of the most storied waterways in the American West. It is also one of the most troubled. In 1942, the National Resources Planning Board observed that the Pecos River basin ""probably presents a greater aggregation of problems associated with land and water use than any other irrigated basin in the Western U.S."" In the twenty-first century, the river's problems have only multiplied. Bitter Waters, the first book-length study of the entire Pecos, traces the river's environmental history from the arrival of the first Europeans in the sixteenth century to today. Running clear at its source and turning salty in its middle reach, the Pecos River has served as both a magnet of veneration and an object of scorn. Patrick Dearen, who has written about the Pecos since the 1980s, draws on more than 150 interviews and a wealth of primary sources to trace the river's natural evolution and man's interaction with it. Irrigation projects, dams, invasive saltcedar, forest proliferation, fires, floods, flow decline, usage conflicts, water quality deterioration - Dearen offers a thorough and clearly written account of what each factor has meant to the river and its prospects. As fine-grained in detail as it is sweeping in breadth, the picture Bitter Waters presents is sobering but not without hope, as it also extends to potential solutions to the Pecos River's problems and the current efforts to undo decades of damage. Combining the research skills of an accomplished historian, the investigative techniques of a veteran journalist, and the engaging style of an award-winning novelist, this powerful and accessible work of environmental history may well mark a turning point in the Pecos's fortunes.

Humans and dolphins have a unique bond. We know that dolphins are highly intelligent, intensely sociable beings who recognize their own reflections, introduce themselves by name, form close friendships, communicate constantly, feel despondent, rescue one another (and humans), deduce, infer, throw tantrums, gossip, joke, and scheme. Many who have swum with them describe the experience as life-changing. They are heralded as magical creatures, and yet we force them into starring roles at theme parks, trade them on the black market and put them to slaughter. Voices in the Ocean is at once a celebration of these beloved animals and a devastating chronicle of the damage wrought when human and dolphin worlds meet. Through Casey's illuminating portrayal of these beguiling creatures we encounter the best and worst of ourselves.

A waterproof, pocket-sized photo identification guide of 150 most commonly seen fish in Hawaii that snorkelers and divers can take with them underwater

Stretching along 156 miles of Florida's East Coast, the Indian River Lagoon contains the St. Lucie estuary, the Mosquito Lagoon, Banana River Lagoon, and the Indian River. Nineteen canals and five man-made inlets have dramatically reshaped the region in the past two centuries, challenging the most biologically diverse estuarine system in the United States. Indian River Lagoon traces the winding story of the waterway, showing how humans have altered the area to fit their needs and also how the lagoon has influenced the cultures along its shores. Now stuck in transition between a place of labor and a place of recreation, the lagoon has become a chief focus of public concern. This book provides a much-needed bigger picture as debates continue over how best to restore this natural resource.

Addressing the numerous gaps in current information, Target Organ Toxicology in Marine and Freshwater Teleosts is an essential resource for researchers and professionals in aquatic toxicology and environmental risk assessment. All the chapters are written by researchers who are internationally recognised for their work in mechanistic aspects of aquatic toxicology. Each chapter focuses on a specific target organ or physiological system and describes how various agents disrupt the normal physiological system and processes. This volume is devoted to specific organs with coverage of the gill, kidney, skin, liver and gut. The companion volume, Systems, provides coverage of toxic effects in the central nervous, immune, neurobehavioural and reproductive systems as well as describing general mechanisms of toxicity.

This book provides a concise synthesis of how toxic chemical pollutants affect physiological processes in teleost fish. This Second Edition of the well-received Water Pollution and Fish Physiology has been completely updated, and chapters have been added on immunology and acid toxicity. The emphasis, as in the first edition, is on understanding mechanisms of sublethal effects on fish and their responses to these environmental stressors. The first chapter covers the basic principles involved in understanding how fish respond, in general, to environmental alterations. Each subsequent chapter is devoted to a particular organ system or physiological function and begins with a short overview of normal physiology of that system/function. This is followed by a review of how various toxic chemicals may alter normal conditions in fish. Chapters covering environmental hypoxia, behavior, cellular enzymes, and acid toxicity are also included. The book closes with a discussion on the practical application of physiological and biochemical measurements of fish in water pollution control in research and regulatory settings.

Since ancient times the sea has been man's playground, and his pathway to new lands and new continents - but also his savage enemy. Linked to an ITV series of the same name, this exploration of the violence of the ocean combines science and human stories, dealing with topics which range from ice-caps to the tidal bores of China, and with man's dramatic relationship with the sea.;Waves and tides, tidal waves, freak tides, rip-tides and whirlpools - what are they and why do they occur? How do humans interact with these phenomena? What is the lure of the sea? These are among the questions addressed, as well as mysteries of the deep: submarines, deep-sea exploration, ocean resources, deep-water life, diving, volcanic hazards, the Bermuda triangle, cyclones and hurricanes, icebergs and ice-breakers.

Whales are among the largest, most intelligent, deepest diving species to have ever lived on our planet. We have hunted them for thousands of years and scratched their icons into our mythologies. They simultaneously fill us with waves of terror, awe and affection - yet we know hardly anything about them. Whales tend to only enter our awareness when they die, struck by a ship or stranded in the surf. They evolved from land-roaming, dog-like creatures into animals that move like fish, breathe like us, can grow to 300,000 pounds, live 200 years and roam entire ocean basins. Yet despite centuries of observing whales, we know little about their evolutionary past. Palaeontologist Nick Pyenson takes us to the ends of the earth and to the cutting edge of whale research as he searches for the answers to some of our biggest questions about these graceful giants. His rich storytelling takes us deep inside the Smithsonian's unparalleled fossil collection, to frigid Antarctic waters, and to the arid desert of Chile, where scientists race against time to document the largest fossil whalebone site on earth. Spying on Whales is an illuminating story of scientific discovery that brings readers closer to the most enigmatic and beloved animals of all time.

A new addition to this successful series and a companion volume to My First Book of Southern African Seashore Life, this book focuses on creatures that are found within the sea environment, away from the shore: fi shes; squid; sharks; rays; whales and dolphins; turtles; seabirds, and other creatures found off-shore. It follows the series model, with an illustrated introduction giving context to the subject, and then each page featuring:

•  a vivid, full-colour illustration
•  simple, informative text in English, Afrikaans, Xhosa and Zulu
•  visual clues about the creatures’ diet, size, habits and distribution round our coast

The definitive field guide to all the sharks, rays and chimaeras of the European Atlantic and Mediterranean The waters of the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea are home to an amazing variety of sharks, rays and chimaeras. This comprehensive and easy-to-use field guide covers all 146 species found in the Mediterranean, the waters of the European Atlantic and Iceland, along all the Scandinavian coasts, in the Black Sea and as far south as the Canary Islands. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, habitat, biology and status. Every species account comes with a colour distribution map, a depth guide, at-a-glance icons and colour illustrations. This must-have field guide also features illustrated key guides that enable you to accurately identify down to species, comparison plates of similar species, illustrations of eggcases where known and plates of teeth. The first field guide to cover all 146 species Features hundreds of colour illustrations, photos, maps and diagrams Describes key features, habitat, biology and status Includes depth guides, at-a-glance icons, key guides and teeth plates

Many thousands of Americans in such cities as Miami, New Orleans, Galveston, and Corpus Christi live near an estuary, one of nature's most intriguing ecosystems. But the same citizens who depend on a neighboring estuary for fresh shrimp or who visit it on a Sunday outing often know little about the physical makeup of estuaries and their contributions to the quality of human life. In this comprehensive study, Robert Stickney examines the physical, chemical, geological, and biological characteristics of estuaries, coastal regions where fresh water and seawater intermingle. This book, the first to bring together data on estuarine ecology in the region of interest, will provide a benchmark for future studies of estuaries and their mysteries and will be invaluable to aquatic ecologists, nonbiological oceanographers and limnologists, and interested laymen. Its storehouse of technical information will assure it a continuing place in the literature of estuarine ecology.

First Published in 1968. This works seeks to be neither controversial nor polemical, the author intends to present an entirely objective account of the beliefs and institutions of Islam. Lammens describes Hejaz as the cradle of Islam, where Western Arabia in its mountainous complexity holds as the primary focus in this title. Discussing Islam as having been formed by the evolution of thirteen centuries, the details supplied within enable the reader to extensively follow its historical development.