Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenberg

May 06, 2012 Celina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don't read many current-affairs polemics--I tend to think you can learn all you need to know about these books from an interview with the author--but Four Fish is right at the top of its category. Paul Greenberg, a lifelong fisherman, is also quite a writer. That makes his status update on fish as easy to read as it is informative.

Without spoiling anything, most of the fish we eat are being caught way beyond the rate of replacement. Legal limits on fishing work if they're based on science, an...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Martin rated it 4 of 5 stars

My opinion of this book can be encapsulated by an actual conversation I had on the train after putting the book away before disembarking:

Nice stranger lady: "Were you just reading the fish book by Greenberg?"
Me: "Why yes, I was."
NSL: "Isn't it an amazing book?"
Me: "You know, it really is. I'm really enjoying it, it's very good."
NSL: "I also enjoyed it very much."
Me: "Know what I find most interesting about it?"
NSL: "What's that?"
Me: "It's about the most boring topic in the world, yet I'm enthral...more

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Mar 28, 2012 Carolyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Why do we choose to eat the animals we do? Why not reindeer instead of goats? Why not the woodcock instead of a chicken? Why the tuna and not the kahala? Why do we choose one over the other, and what makes an animal right for domestication by humans? One wonders if it’s right to pick a species and hunt it to extinction before first turning an eye toward a sustainable alternative.

Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food, published by Penguin Press in 2010, asks thes...more
Why do we choose to eat the animals we do? Why not reindeer instead of goats? Why not the woodcock instead of a chicken? Why the tuna and not the kahala? Why do we choose one over the other, and what makes an animal right for domestication by humans? One wonders if it’s right to pick a species and hunt it to extinction before first turning an eye toward a sustainable alternative.

Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food, published by Penguin Press in 2010, asks these questions in response to his shock at finding his childhood fishing grounds completely devoid of the fish he remembers catching there. With an eye toward the deeper causes behind his area’s fish extirpation, he investigates, researches, presents and persuades both himself and his readers that a huge and devastating change has befallen our world’s fish. He shows that of the four fish we’ve chosen as our mainstays, salmon, sea bass, and cod have been fished in many locations to extirpation, and salmon and the fourth fish, tuna, have been fished near the tipping point toward extinction. These wild fish of choice are so diminished it’s fair to say that our children’s children might never taste a wild fish. Farmed fish have made a rocky splash in the world food market, but out of sheer necessity are here to stay. As aquaculture continues to make strides to improve its methods, Paul Greenberg makes a case that farmed fish may be the salvation of fish as a food source in the future.

These are big claims to make by one man, and one wonders who exactly is Paul Greenberg to make them? What makes him credible as the author of such a far-reaching visionary critique on the future of fish? In 2011 Greenberg won the James Beard Award for writing and literature for Four Fish, and his writing on fish, seafood and oceans is often featured in the New York Times Magazine and Book Review. He is a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellow and a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Policy Fellow. The Kellogg Foundation is now the seventh largest philanthropic foundation in the U.S. and partners with health organizations to improve conditions for people all over the world and educate about health and wellness (Wikipedia, 3-4-12). This speaks to his credibility and talent as an author and journalist, but what about Paul Greenberg the man? Mr. Greenberg loves fish: to pursue them, to catch them, to eat them, to survey them at the fish markets of the world, and to discuss them with others who feel the same. He began his passion fishing his youth, continued as a teen, but when renewing his love of it in his adult years, was shocked to find the wild fish of his youth no longer the endless supply he’d believed them to be. “Like any hunter whose grounds have gone bad, I set out looking for new territory” (3). In pursuit of what happened to his fish, he is led down a road of shock and discovery many of us wouldn’t wish to undertake, but Greenberg embraces the daunting challenge to answer the questions he asks himself. Are the fish gone? Are they coming back? Should we still pursue wild fish, as either sportsman or diner? Is farmed fish the only alternative, and if so, is that a bad thing? He speaks clearly and without pretense, with a wit and levity that shows his basic honesty and character.

Paul Greenberg has researched this book well, incorporating multiple perspectives from proponents of wild fish as well as those in aquaculture. In the back of Four Fish, Greenberg has thirteen pages of referenced notes in mouse-type. All the references are either peer-reviewed articles, books, organizations’ reports or interviews with experts in their fields. Cod fishing a reopened portion of Georges Bank near Manhattan on the party fishing boat the Helen H., he experiences first-hand the somewhat repopulated, smaller state of cod (130-135). Visiting the sustainable wild salmon enterprise run by Jac Gadwill in Alaska, Greenberg goes fishing with a local indigenous family who are only allowed “subsistence openings for a limited number of hours, during which time the Yupik can catch salmon for their personal consumption” (29) only after escapement numbers have been met as dictated by Fish and Game (21-34). He interviews scientists responsible for genetically enhancing the sea-bass so they could be bred in aquaculture, and visits fish farming operations in Norway. Deep-sea scuba diving for the first time ever, Greenberg views up close Kona Blue, the blue water aquaculture operation in Hawaii of the kahala, one of the first fish to be domesticated that fit the profile for human domestication (229-236). He performs wild and farmed fish taste tests with some of the best scientific minds in the aquaculture industry. Greenberg even talks to small artisanal fishermen about their views and experiences in a lifelong trade that can no longer support them. Greenberg’s extensive research has made him like the Bear Grylls of fish journalism; nothing is too extreme in pursuit of answers to his questions.

Being a lifelong fisherman, it would be natural to assume he would stand firmly on the side of wild fish, shoring up evidence against farmed fish as an evil industrial entity undermining all attempts to reverse overfishing, and he does, but Greenberg remains remarkably unbiased in his presentation of issues surrounding both wild and farmed fish. He begins by being surprised, then dismayed, by the lack of fish, but then shakes it off and moves quickly into research mode. He finds and cites statistics on how many fish are taken from the oceans. He discusses the tipping points that send a species toward extinction. Then he readily admits that some fishing grounds that were closed and allowed years of rest are having some success with returning numbers of cod and sea bass. He could’ve just let the world think these fish had rounded the bend, along with salmon and tuna, but he didn’t. He starts out unimpressed with the idea of farmed fish being all that may be left for fish eaters. After careful investigation, Greenberg found a few aquaculture companies in pursuit of perfecting closed systems and alternatives to farming too closely to wild counterpoints. He discovered Neil Sims in Hawaii, who searched and found a fish that fits both the criteria for domestication and the profile to replace tuna in the growing current sushi market. Greenberg is impressed with what he sees, despite himself, and admits it. His journey and progression from first regarding farmed fish with trepidation, to instead one of a necessary, evolving alternative to wild is one readers of Four Fish make along with him.

Endlessly interesting, with broad audience appeal, Paul Greenberg’s writing style is like a gifted novelist, which makes for a page-turning experience for any reader. It is personal for him, so he makes it personal for us. Every chapter and section starts with a story and weaves it artfully back and forth throughout the discovered evidence and research, turning a nonfiction research book into one that transcends that label entirely. Relaying his own hands-on experiences; he tells the truth about his own actions and desires. He quotes himself from an editorial interview where he says, “dining on a 500-pound bluefin tuna is the seafood equivalent of driving a Hummer” (215) but then admits he couldn’t turn down a taste of tuna carpaccio at a family dinner party, much to his embarrassment, as his twelve-year-old daughter regarded him narrowly. “‘Hypocrite,’ she said coolly” (215-216). Part of Greenberg’s appeal is that he is everyman; he doesn’t elevate himself from his audience, which endears him to his reader.

Something needs to change in the methods of dealing with wild and farmed fish,
and Greenberg is very persuasive, as he is passionate about his subject. On page one of the introduction he honestly states “in 1978 all the fish I cared about died.” Right away, he admits he has more than just a casual relationship with fish. A writer’s successfully translated passion is what keeps the pages turning. If we can see what he sees, taste what he tastes, feel his surprise and horror, his embarrassment, relief, excitement or resignation, it not only makes for the best reading, but persuades like nothing else. As he includes little stories about himself and the people he interviews it brings a delightfully fallible human element to him and his subjects. This reels us in to identify with both, which in turn allows him to gain our trust and understanding. In his trip to Alaska to visit Kwik’pak Fisheries, he jokes about going home with operator Jac Gadwill’s wool socks (63). Upon meeting Jac, he writes, “a figure whose look could fairly be summarized as ‘a great bear of a man’ stood squinting at me. There was something familiar about him--a kind of Nick Nolte of the North with a little more warmth and girth. ‘You Paul?’ Jac Gadwill asked, his voice thick with the grit of ten thousand packs of cigarettes.” ( 21). He drops readers in the scene with him, then reels them along for the journey. It is just a tiny hook from there to persuasion, and he makes it.

It is hard to refute the facts cited supporting wild fish extirpations and future possible extinctions, or the statistics of increased world fish consumption versus decline in wild catch. Where once the commonly held image of farmed fish was of Frankenfish, Greenberg’s careful analysis of the ever evolving aquaculture industry instead allays those fears, and reveals, even to his own surprise, the future of farmed fish to be one not only necessary for the future of wild populations, but one better suited to man’s domestication efforts in the first place, like that of the Hawaiian kahala, or Kona Kampachi, as Kona Blue’s marketing team has renamed it while adapting it to aquaculture (229-236). A fish better suited to farming efforts, with a much lower ecological footprint than anything pursued before it, it is able to satisfy the too-soon-to-be sushi void created by the exiting bluefin tuna. Greenberg provides this knowledge as a peace offering, a sign of hope instead of leaving readers with the image of a bleak, dying sea.

Rather than strand us there, Greenberg provides clear and workable solutions to the problems facing wild fish, as well as the obvious ones facing aquaculture by concluding his book with an entire chapter summarizing the facts of the state of the world’s oceans and the dire position of the wild fish in it. He gives “priority to a set of clearly achievable goals for wild fish” (246) the first one being “a move away from large, heavily extractive (and heavily subsidized) vessels that employ very few individuals is critical. An emerging ‘artisanal’ sector of respectful fishermen-herders that will steward the species, as well as catch them, needs to be encouraged and higher market prices will be able to support that kind of activity (246-247). He then gives a detailed list suggesting how best to domesticate future sea creatures for aquaculture (252-256). Once he establishes that there is indeed a fish crisis and an urgent need for action, he presents a feasible template for humanity to follow.

Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food is a truly memorable read that moves beyond enlightened journalism and merges into almost a memoir of one man’s quest to solve the world’s fish crisis. Paul Greenberg’s credentials as an author and journalist are enhanced by his above-and-beyond level of research, and underlined by his honest and brave move to present the case for aquaculture even though it goes against his instincts as a fisher, pursuer and philosopher of wild fish. He artfully organizes and presents his case, in a fascinating and descriptive writing style that convinces readers even as it convinces Greenberg himself. Rather than just providing an answer when asked by many yet-to-be readers “which fish should I eat?” (243), he richly details throughout Four Fish why policy changes and global protection by multiple governments are what’s really needed, and exactly why that question is so disturbingly beside the point.

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Jan 06, 2012 Irwin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Many of us, no doubt, have long suspected that the end is near as far as the most desirable wild fisheries are concerned. Many of the world's most sought-after fish -- including cod, tuna, sea bass and salmon -- have all disappeared from the wild to some extent, and we will soon be able to eat only frankenstein fish raised on farms that are saturated with antibiotics, fish excrement, industrial chemicals and other pollutants. This fascinating book gives us a glimpse backward to a time when the s...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Dayna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Where do I start? This book single-handedly knocked the ignorance right out of me, not the part that highlighted human greed, but the part that never quite understood what "farmed" fish meant, the extent to which we have manipulated/destroyed their breeding environment and overturned their own biological makeup sometimes for the sake of profit, other times for the very real necessity of eradicating hunger, nor that it had been hypocritical of me to relinquish red "meat" while believing that turn...more Where do I start? This book single-handedly knocked the ignorance right out of me, not the part that highlighted human greed, but the part that never quite understood what "farmed" fish meant, the extent to which we have manipulated/destroyed their breeding environment and overturned their own biological makeup sometimes for the sake of profit, other times for the very real necessity of eradicating hunger, nor that it had been hypocritical of me to relinquish red "meat" while believing that turning towards seafood was entirely harmless both in and of itself and to the environment. Its supply is not enough to meet our demands and yet we've no doubt pushed for questionable methods to reverse that.

I was overwhelmed by the extent to which we have entered into their domain by way of our dominant and inventive devices, which has increasingly enabled us to surge geographically further beyond fishing territories we have already decimated. It made me question as never before if what we've done is a form of violence on par with what we mainly attribute to our acts toward warm blooded animals. For example, the author described the technique of Italians who entered Greece in early 1970s to "fish" for sea bass by detonating underwater dynamite, the pressure of the waves thereby knocking the sea bass unconscious and simultaneously cutting off the sea bass's neurotransmitters which would normally aid them in regulating their swim bladders. Consequently, their swim bladders erroneously flooded itself with an overload of gas, whereby they floated toward the surface of the ocean to be easily captured by the fisherman.

The author, a fisher himself, does an important job in tracing the history of each fish and offering his theories on why we have chosen these particular four when other more heartily sustainable fish can be found and that perhaps we can save the viability of the endangered ones by turning towards the alternative. However, we have grown attached to the fantastic four and are slow to embrace the little known. Most significant, though, was his descriptions of the evolutionary beauty inherent in each of these four fish in their wild form. For instance, the blue-fin tuna that can reach upwards to 1500 pounds and over 14 feet long, can traverse entire oceans and at a rate of over 40 miles an hour with its rapidly whipping tail. Is this alone not a miracle of creation worthy of our awe and preservation.

What I liked about this book is that it is balanced, pragmatic and realistic. He is not an extremist advocating for an end to all fish and animal consumption. At this stage it would be impossible as we are too attached to it as a food source, but rather to a more balanced approach, such as smaller-scale operations fronted by actual fisherman with an understanding of the life cycles of the marine environment so that the equilibrium of ocean life can be protected and not when we've realized too late that we might have depleted or killed off the original spawners with the best genes to survive its surroundings. In a nutshell, moderation, restraint and a giving back even half much as we take away appears to be the message and the key. I loved this book heartily recommend this book to anyone.(less)

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Oct 11, 2011 Happyreader rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: food-and-drink, history-politics, nature, science

Who would have guessed after going into such depth about the state of the fish we eat that the author would conclude by revealing that he’s unsettled by people continually asking him which fish they should eat. I understand that he considers global fishing and environmental policy changes to be primary and necessary and that if one consumer doesn’t eat tuna, another will so we’re shouldn’t delude ourselves that we’re saving fish solely by our consumer choices. Plus, he promotes shifting our mind...more Who would have guessed after going into such depth about the state of the fish we eat that the author would conclude by revealing that he’s unsettled by people continually asking him which fish they should eat. I understand that he considers global fishing and environmental policy changes to be primary and necessary and that if one consumer doesn’t eat tuna, another will so we’re shouldn’t delude ourselves that we’re saving fish solely by our consumer choices. Plus, he promotes shifting our mindsets to think of fish as not just food, that we should be harvesting and managing more sustainably, but also as wildlife to be preserved for our planetary health. Great points. Yet where else can we begin but with our own individual consumption choices? Shouldn’t the answer be that we both change our eating patterns AND advocate for policy change? Mind you, despite being disturbed by the question, he doesn't push for abstaining from eating fish and he does mention fish he thinks are suitable and unsuitable for widespread consumption. For instance, he discusses the advantages of choosing aquaculture-friendly fish such as barramundi, tilapia, tra, and Kona kampachi (although good luck finding any of those, save tilapia, in stores or on restaurant menus). Yet don't bother with farmed cod or tuna, both because of the huge food energy inputs (20 lbs of fish feed to get one lb of tuna flesh) and lower quality fish outputs.

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about the issues surrounding fish sustainability, fish farming, and oceanic ecosystems. Learn more about the sex lives of fish. Heck, read it for no other reason than to update yourself on the cod situation if you’ve already read Mark Kurlansky’s Cod (there’s a great section where the author has Mark taste test various wild and farm-raised cod). Mind you, the book won’t answer all your sustainable fish questions. For instance, while reading the book, I ate at San Diego's Sea Rocket Bistro, a restaurant known for serving only sustainable fish and where they offered albacore tuna fished off the California coast. Is albacore less endangered than bluefin? Was that truly a sustainable fish choice? One revelation is that sustainability has never been clearly defined and the goal levels for fish stocks may be set too low for true sustainability, making my albacore question difficult to answer.

BTW, the cod are doing better but permanent damage may have been done to their size and former levels of abundance and bluefin tuna are in serious danger of collapsing entirely. So don’t eat bluefin tuna. I’m telling you, it’s near to impossible to talk about the fish we eat without asking which fish we should or shouldn't eat.
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Sep 05, 2011 Isaac Yuen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Four Fish provided a very good overview of the state of wild fisheries and fish farms through the eyes of someone who genuinely cares about fish and fishing. After reading Bottomfeeder, I was wary that it may cover a lot of similar terrain, but this actually provided an interesting and thought-provoking perspective about how people view fish. There were some really intriguing insights here. For example, salmon was perceived to be a luxury item, brought down to the masses. Cod was perceived to be...more Four Fish provided a very good overview of the state of wild fisheries and fish farms through the eyes of someone who genuinely cares about fish and fishing. After reading Bottomfeeder, I was wary that it may cover a lot of similar terrain, but this actually provided an interesting and thought-provoking perspective about how people view fish. There were some really intriguing insights here. For example, salmon was perceived to be a luxury item, brought down to the masses. Cod was perceived to be a workman, an everyday staple, until one day, it wasn’t. Bluefin tuna was perceived to the pinnacle of evolution, and subduing it via modern fishing technology represented man’s triumph over nature.

The conclusions are excellent and well-thought out; Greenberg argued that we need both new management strategies for wild fisheries and new developments in fish farms if we are to continue to rely on fish as a source of protein. Within the realm of aquaculture, one of the most important arguments he made was that we need to devote our energies to raise fish species that are actually amenable to being farmed. Rationality dictates that farmed fish species should tolerate containment, net us surplus protein (we get more than we put in), are hardy, easy to maintain, and can breed freely without fuss.

The kicker is that all four main fish species in the book are actually terrible candidates for sustaining the world. Our fish preferences stem from culture and circumstance and are in reality terribly irrational. Salmon is just about the hardest, most annoying thing to farm; sea bass is no better. Bluefin tuna was considered not fit for cats to the Japanese a few generations ago; now they are almost extinct due to rabid and insatiable demand because it could be frozen at sea. Cod was the staple of nations not because of its taste or nutrition, but for its abundance, low cost, and extraordinary blandness. They have fared extremely poorly in a world of tremendous seafood demand, and farmed salmon and cod along with ranched bluefin are not solutions to anything.

Greenberg looks at more sensible alternatives that cater to our irrational tastes. Instead of cod, tra (the Vietnamese catfish) and tilapia provide the same white bland meat (there are concerns about how Asian fish farms raise them, unfortunately not covered in the book.) Instead of sea bass, farmed barramundi from Australia. Instead of bluefin tuna, he looks at farmed kahala from Hawaii. They are by no means the most sustainable choices, but they are far more sensible in terms of resource and energy use better than what they replace.

There are weaknesses in the earlier portions of the book. This is definitely a personal preference thing, but I found it difficult to relate to his personal history about why fishing meant a lot to him. The Sea Bass chapter also really laboured to draw me in as a reader; perhaps because the history of sea bass pales in comparison to epic and tragic histories of the salmon, cod, and tuna fisheries. But towards the end of the chapter, he really grabbed my attention again and kept it throughout the rest of the book.

Overall, similar to Bottomfeeder, I would recommend this book both for someone who’s just learning about the issues and for those who are already pretty knowledgeable about the plight of the oceans and are seeking to understand finned fish aquaculture. I really enjoyed its structured format, going from one main species of focus to another; that aspect made it easy to follow and ideal to quick pickup and read sessions.
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Aug 17, 2011 Jordan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nutrition-health, history-science

Do you ever wonder where that fish on your plate comes from, or how many of its brothers and sisters are still around? Do you wonder why there are only a couple of fish that are available to order at restaurants or buy at the grocery store? Paul Greenberg fished as a child does first in local ponds and streams near his home. As he grew older he bought a boat and began fishing in lakes and then in bays and coastal areas. As an adult he chartered boats and the ocean became his pond. Upon returning...more
Do you ever wonder where that fish on your plate comes from, or how many of its brothers and sisters are still around? Do you wonder why there are only a couple of fish that are available to order at restaurants or buy at the grocery store? Paul Greenberg fished as a child does first in local ponds and streams near his home. As he grew older he bought a boat and began fishing in lakes and then in bays and coastal areas. As an adult he chartered boats and the ocean became his pond. Upon returning from a 30 year break from his fishing hobby he soon noticed that fish markets had only a few fish to choose from compared to years past when the variety was staggering. His book profiles the “big four” fish that are now widely available for our consumption. These include salmon, tuna, bass and cod.

Did you know for example that Bluefin Tuna which is the most coveted sushi/sashimi dish is near priceless because of scarcity caused by over fishing. A 500 pound blue fin can sell for 300,000 U.S dollars. Did ya know that before the 1970’s fisherman tossed these fish overboard because of their rich fatty meat? Japanese businessman shipping electronics to the U.S began loading their empty plains with Bluefin, buying them for pennies, to avoid wasting gas money on their jets’ return trips to Japan? A bit of marketing and then bluefin became a popular fish. Fish food fads come and go and we all go along for the ride.

Greenberg goes on to profile each fish and explain how they each underwent domestication and, or exploitation. The lengths we went to make special occasion fish everyday fish has been amazing. Technologically we overcame obstacles to feed the masses, but at the same time devastating our wild fish populations. He believes that the food input would be close to the food output when choosing fish to farm. Tilapia and barramundi both require little food and thrive in rough conditions so their future is bright. As popularity contests ebb and flow different fish find their way to our plate. When wild stocks begin to “stop producing” we try to “farm” that variety of fish and have had mixed results both with efficacy and the healthiness of the product.

I found this book very interesting and disturbing at the same time. We spend so much effort to eat the right things yet very little in understanding where our food comes from, or the effect we are having on it as a species by eating it. After reading this book I’ve decided that protein, especially fish, is just a luxury that should be treated as such. Cave man had little of it and modern man has been able to afford little himself. We owe it to our animal friends; for our health, pocketbook, and the continual supply of special occasion protein out there in nature, to eat less and learn more.

He ends his book with advice for the fishing industry that may lead to logical choices of what fish to fish and how to keep power in the hands of fisherman who won’t destroy the very delicate little water animals that keep them employed. If big business is left to make these choices then wild fish will be quickly gone and “farmed” processed mutant fish will fill our plates.
You are what you eat and you are also responsible for the killing of what you eat.
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Aug 09, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's a story of unintended consequences. Farmed Fish is a big idea response to pressures on the wild fish stock in the commercial fisheries. It holds promise, but has primarily worsened the circumstances of the wild stock while degrading the fish we eat. Sadly, most fish farming is based on false logic, erroneous assumptions, and a green ideology that uses simplistic, and often untrue, stories to stir emotional reactions and garner political power. Two axioms should be held sacrosanct in this an...more

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May 15, 2011 Scott is currently reading it

Basically says that the same thing that's happening with industrial agriculture is being replicated with fish, including all of the problems. Speaks about overfishing's effects on a native tribe in the Yukon; something like 500,000 wild salmon are left in the atlantic; scientists' effort to create a viable aquaculture system with the wrong fish (european sea bass, or branzino); tons of salmon are farmed in Chile because of its viable climate; many farmed salmon/ sea bass are escaping into waterw...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

A sport fisherman examines the fate of the world’s last wild food.

Four Fish: The Future of the last Wild Food by Paul Greenburg examines the condition of the Earth’s fisheries by focusing on four fish: salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna. Any book that addresses natural resources and humanity’s treatment of them has high potential to be very depressing. Greenburg however, outlines several options that combine strategies for wild-catch commercial fishing, aquaculture, and preservation that combined, m...more A sport fisherman examines the fate of the world’s last wild food.

Four Fish: The Future of the last Wild Food by Paul Greenburg examines the condition of the Earth’s fisheries by focusing on four fish: salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna. Any book that addresses natural resources and humanity’s treatment of them has high potential to be very depressing. Greenburg however, outlines several options that combine strategies for wild-catch commercial fishing, aquaculture, and preservation that combined, may provide for a sustainable world fishery.

The situation is challenging. Fish protein is vital to feed the Earth’s population. The sheer number of fish harvested is staggering and totals in the billions of tons annually for many species. Fishing technology is effective to the point that it is devastating. Developing countries have had their waters exploited for decades, and now desire to utilize these resources, both to feed their populace and develop economically.

• One of the more interesting proposals for domestic cod waters is to limit fishing grounds to select individuals who are residents and stewards of small fishing grounds. A similar arrangement has been very successful with lobster fishermen in Maine.

• Aquaculture poses numerous problems including genetic deterioration, fish disease and problematic feed-to-product ratios. However, with these challenges thoughtfully addressed aquaculture, particularly freshwater aquaculture could be a viable means to provide the world with fish.

• The perception of adequate quantities of fish species experiences a phenomenon known as “shifting baselines” in which the true historical populations are not considered (or even known.)

• The demand for a species like blue fin tuna could very well drive the fish to extinction and in fact the conditions that surround it are seemingly insurmountable. Greenburg brings up an interesting concept regarding apex fish like the Blue Fin. It entails a dramatic shift in perception of the fish like the one that occurred with whales. He argues that by placing these fish in a different category in the global psyche, they could be saved.

Greenburg’s approach to the subject was engaging. He avoided over dramatizations while still stressing the crucial issues that the world’s fisheries face. The fact that he is a somewhat avid sport fisherman added a particularly interesting element to the narrative. His tales of fishing throughout his life and what that has meant to him provided a personal element that juxtaposed nicely with the massive industry that is commercial fishing.

Greenburg’s treatment of the subject is substantially interdisciplinary. In addition to the obvious economic, biological, cultural, and technical components he even examines some linguistical elements that pertain to history of the global fishery.

Books to read prompted by Four Fish: Trying Leviathan by D. Graham Burnett and Cod by Mark Kurlanski
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Jan 15, 2011 Arthur Ryan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, science

Paul Greenberg's book is at its most interesting when you hear him speaking as a lover of fish and of fishing. He has that very admirable mix of writing prowess, scientific background, and a passion for his topic. True, the book drags at various points, and I found myself zoning out slightly during the middle of certain chapters (though to be fair, I was crossing several time zones at the time). However, it's worth the journey, as you'll learn a lot about how we get our food from the sea and wha...more

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Dec 23, 2010 Kurt rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: civilization, food, non-fiction, nature

In the history of human civilization four fish species have had dramatic and lasting impacts -- Salmon, Bass, Cod, and Tuna. Today, as wild stocks of these four fish become increasingly depleted even as demand continues to rise, we are becoming more and more reliant on commercially farmed fish to make up the deficit.

Will this strategy work? Can wild stocks ever be restored to historic sustainable levels? Will commercial farming of food fish be the salvation of natural wild fish or will it eventu...more

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Sep 19, 2010 William rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is essentially a policy book about how to sustainably manage wild fish and meet rising demand will require a mix of government controls on fishing and on carefully regulated aquaculture.

Some fish make less sense than others for aquaculture, and Greenberg introduces a number of fish that seem well-suited for aquaculture, due to their low dependency on fish feed. Some fish, like salmon, require a diet of fish meal that makes raising them a net loss on sea life. Others are vegetarian or, at l...more

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Aug 23, 2010 Nishant rated it 4 of 5 stars

Greenberg agrues, rather convincingly, that 4 fish that we have (nearly) fished to extinction -- Salmon, Cod, Bass, and Tuna -- should essentially be taken off our menus. Also, they should be re-classified as "wild fish", and not farmed. Alternatives--that in some cases already exist--should instead be farmed, and used for human consumption. Furthermore, these four "wild" fish should not longer be fished by giant industrial trawlers, but by artisinal fishermen, who understand the ecology of the...more

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Sep 19, 2010 Schuyler rated it 5 of 5 stars

Definitely one of the best books that I have read in my adult life! I highly recommend it to anyone that is interested in the subject.

The author does a phenomenal job of sharing information through his various adventures and stories. Not only do you feel like you are learning about fish but you also feel as if you're building a relationship with the author. You learn about fish through his life.

The best part of the book to me is that the author does not support one side of the argument while b...more

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May 02, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

I expected that I would enjoy learning more about farmed and wild-caught fish, but I was surprised by Greenberg's thoughtfulness and the quality of his prose. Four Fish is in many ways similar to Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, if not quite as ambitious in scope; Greenberg combines personal stories and reflections with research into the history and science of commercial fish species. Like Pollan, Greenberg takes firm positions while avoiding a heavy-handed approach. The book's overall effect is...more

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Oct 09, 2010 Gary Brecht rated it 3 of 5 stars

As a fisherman I found this book somewhat unsettling; and I suppose that’s what the author intended. He not only points at the smoke to yell, “Fire,” but he also proposes some solutions to the depletion of the last stocks of wild food available to mankind.

Greenberg’s descriptive prose engages the reader while at the same time instructing. We learn about the history of domesticating fish, the selection process practiced by fish farm entrepreneurs, the status of a variety of fish species. All thi...more

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Mar 13, 2013 Sophia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, food, green, nautical, non-fiction

Since I love seafood, I was drawn to Paul Greenberg’s Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food. Growing up fishing, Greenberg turns his attention to salmon, bass, cod, and tuna as the four main species dominating the world market in this passionate piece about protecting the future of fish stocks. Greenberg argues we are at a tipping point where intelligent policies can preserve the future of healthy and sustainable seafood or shortsighted ones can doom us to destroy the last wild food on ear...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Chad rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

I would really like to give this book 3 1/2 stars. The 5 star rating system does not cut it. But I digress...

The book opens and sets its premise with this quote:

"Must we eliminate all wildness from the sea and replace it with some kind of human controlled system, or can wildeness be understood and managed well enough to keep humanity and the marine world in balance."

The author surveys four different fish (really more than that but those are the sections the book is dividing into) and the effe...more

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Jan 15, 2011 Jimmy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: environment

Paul Greenberg writes about four fish: salmon, tuna, bass, and cod. He also includes stories about other fish and marine life. The subtitle says it all: "The Future of the Last Wild Food." And the future is not good. So what can I do about it? I mean, I only want to live the rest of my life trying to do the right thing. Why is that so hard? In this case, it really is tricky. Small steps are not making enough of a difference right now.

For one thing, I will never eat bluefin tuna. For another, I w...more

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Sep 24, 2011 Joan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another book in the 'Omnivore's Dilemma' genre. If you eat fish or think about the fishing industry or habitat management or oceans management, put this book close to the top of your list.

For me, eating used to be so straightforward. But, visits to aquariums, especially the one in Monterrey, CA provide a better understanding of the environmental cost of eating fish. Visits to Louisburg, NS, provide a better understanding of the importance of the Grand Banks fishing area to Europe. The frequent n...more Another book in the 'Omnivore's Dilemma' genre. If you eat fish or think about the fishing industry or habitat management or oceans management, put this book close to the top of your list.

For me, eating used to be so straightforward. But, visits to aquariums, especially the one in Monterrey, CA provide a better understanding of the environmental cost of eating fish. Visits to Louisburg, NS, provide a better understanding of the importance of the Grand Banks fishing area to Europe. The frequent news items about the plight of fishermen and the collapse of the fishing industry make one try to figure out what is the most appropriate species (if any) to eat.

Greenberg uses the 4 fish species that are almost always available in your local supermarket or restaurant to organize this book and provides some background as to why these 4 species (salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna) have become of important to our diets as well as a more general discussion about ocean management and the various issues relating to farm-raised fish.

The extensive bibliography provides links to additional information beyond the wide ranging number of interviews and data presented in the book. On one hand, it is hopeful. Some measures have resulted in the re-estabishment of various species and environments. On the other hand, it is concerning. I've carried around my Monterrey Aquariums 'good fish to eat' list, along with about a million of my fellow visitors to the aquarium - and apparently the steady decrease in fish species on the endangered list has not changed since the lists were first published. Despite the observation that bluefin tuna, who sit at the top of the food chain, are warm blooded and in almost desperate circumstances, no effective treaty or closure of fishing in nursery areas has been implemented. I'm sure that the ongoing economic crises are occupying most of the various diplomatic corp, but it would be reassuring that someone could work on this problem.

Although not a topic in this book, consumption of other protein sources as been top of mine since I finished reading it and I've been moved to eat less animal protein - including fish, probably less food over all - and that is a good thing.(less)

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Aug 21, 2010 Alan rated it 3 of 5 stars

"Four Fish" has an interesting premis, that fish are the last wild food that most of us will eat. Greenberg focuses on outlining the current status of four well-known food fish: salmon, sea bass, cod, and tuna.

As it turns out the majority of the salmon and bass you eat is actually produced via aquaculture. Cod, real cod, has become relatively rare, and fish sold as "cod" are actually related species, some of which are starting to be farmed (aquaculture). The same goes for tuna. Bluefin tuna rea...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Rachel Nabors rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Paul Greenberg does a magnificent job of straddling the outlooks of scientists, fishermen, and consumers in this volume about the future of our major food fish.

Before reading this, I didn't understand what a "farmed salmon" was. I thought I could change the world by only ordering from the green column of my Seafood Watch card. And while I knew there was something concerning going on with tuna, it didn't stop me from ordering the odd roll on business lunches.

Now I've learned that humans, and our...more

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Mar 19, 2012 L rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: overrated

Although this book made me feel "in the know" about the up-and-coming fish in the market (barramundi, Kona Kampachi), it fell short of being anything but a superficial, designer book; it was all style and no substance. Unfortunately, the style was less than glamorous, too. Greenberg is just not an interesting writer.

Essentially, this book is Greenberg's dry, judgmental, morally-superior justification for eating fish. Several parts made me shudder at how blatantly he passed moral judgment on anot...more

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Dec 14, 2010 Peterb rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Paul Greenberg charts the exploitation and decline of four fish - wild salmon, European sea bass, cod, and bluefin tuna - in this thoroughly depressing work. Much of the book is spent channelling representatives from various commercial fishing operations, or alternatively from environmental groups. Some attention is paid to the question "so, if we shouldn't eat these fish, what should we eat?". (Spoiler: Greenberg says barramundi, tilapia, and "kona kampachi", a trade name for almaco jack)

The bo...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Jen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: science

This book covers...wait for it...four fish: salmon, tuna, cod, and bass.

It's also the most depressing book on the state of the aquaculture industry...ever.

There is no hope in this book--no happy stories, no lovable vignettes, just misery and sadness and woe. Not to say this isn't accurate woe, but it made it a very long and depressing read. One that I could not enjoy while eating my fish sticks.

At various times during this book (pretty much every four pages) I thought of giving up on it, finding...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Susan rated it 3 of 5 stars

A very interesting read. The history of four fish. Past life. Farming. Future. Salmon. Sea Bass. Cod. Tuna. Very informative. I definitely recommend. I'm one of those folks who try to eat "responsibly." He takes on the issue of how much this matters. Maybe not all that much. But I'll still keep this direction. I recently found a cookbook that maps to thinking about what is a reasonable approach to seafood. Living as I do in the Pugent Sound, lots of amazing seafood. This is a pressing and import...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: food, environmentalism

Ichthyophiles beware, this book is a bit of a downer. Sure, you've heard of overfishing, but you can't possibly be part of the problem, right? Well, fish is a food just as fraught with environmental-moral quandaries as anything to be found on land. Greenberg gives an overview of the modern problems of fish through four representative (and delicious!!) species, and the biology of the fish and their oft-attempted domestication is pretty fascinating stuff. As for the question of changing the world,...more

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Mar 01, 2012 Stephanie W rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: food, nonfiction

Although I love eating fish, I have never particularly enjoyed fishing. That was the first problem with my reading of this book. Since Greenberg seems to really enjoy fishing, he talks about it in, at times, excruciating detail. He talks about what it's like on a bot in the middle of the night fishing for tuna and about the Native Alaskans who still subsist on salmon fishing.

Some sections were longer than others, but the sections that interested me more (the ones on Cod and Sea Bass) were some o...more

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