KINGS OF THEIR OWN OCEAN

An investigative journalist looks at the world’s obsession with bluefin tuna.

In 2018, a bluefin tuna was caught by a commercial fishing company off the coast of Portugal and shipped to Madrid. Amelia, as she was named, was like no other. In 2004, Amelia was tagged by a fisherman from Rhode Island. Three years later, she was tagged by a group working with marine scientist Molly Lutcavage off the coast of Cape Cod. This period marked one of the “longest tag recovery records of any pelagic fish.” Named after Amelia Earhart, this fish had also crossed the Atlantic Ocean, defying conventional wisdom. Throughout the book, Pinchin beautifully traces Amelia’s incredible journey and the lives that intersected with hers, interweaving the history of the bluefin tuna industry and its staggering increase in production since the 1970s. Among other topics, the author describes the intriguing history of sushi in Japan; advances in technologies following World War II that have created the need for fisheries management; the illegal bluefin tuna market, estimated to be worth approximately 12.5 million euros annually; and “how one of the world’s most ancient bluefin fisheries had grappled with modernity.” As the author points out, “while the bluefin’s precise vision and powerful speed were the culmination of millions of years of evolution, they were no match for the increasingly industrial capabilities of global fishing fleets.” The demand continues to increase, and Pinchin shares her opinions about the problems that have come with “humanity’s right to control the ocean” as well as the hope that has come from scientists working with the fish. “After spending years of my own life chasing bluefin around the world,” she writes near the end, “I’ve ultimately come to believe that as a global community, we are collectively only ever a few terrible choices away from wiping out any ocean species.”

An engaging and fascinating tale of a natural struggle that will help determine the future of the oceans.