Kings of Their Own Ocean by Karen Pinchin is an epic Nonfiction book about the bluefin tuna, its habitat and food, reproduction and life cycle, fishing, industry, swimming formations, crime, environmental concerns and conservation. It is also about selling and buying the fish to eat and the waxing and waning of meat demand with corresponding prices. The Ancient Greeks were so in awe of the fish they stamped their images onto coins. In more recent decades, the fish sold cheaply, though now commands huge prices.

In 2004 Al Anderson, a charter captain caught a particular fish and tagged a bluefin; called Amelia, she was again caught (this time she died) in 2018 after thousands and thousands of kilometers of sea travel back and forth between Nova Scotia and the Mediterranean. Anderson had a fascination for these muscular creatures which must keep swimming to be able to breathe and was instrumental in conservation groundwork. Parts of the book focuses on his life, his trials and his death, particularly how they related to the bluefin. The author also includes anecdotes about her life, her family and her link to this stunning creature. One of the stories which stands out most in my mind is Jacques Cousteau swimming alongside them. What an experience!

What I enjoyed most was absorbing the turbulent history and facts about the bluefin tuna. The amount of information in this book is staggering and much will stick with me as a thalassophile.

My sincere thank you to Knopf Canada and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this fascinating book.

Happy to highlight this new release in “Nurture Your Nature,” a round-up of new and notable books on birds, in the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see column and mini-review at link)