Every Last Fish: A Deep Dive into Everything They Do for Us and We Do to Them

Summary

Slippery, wet, and strange: Fish can be easier to think of as food than as fellow animals. But what do we know about these creatures we meet on our dinner table and how they got there? But with warming oceans, diminishing fish stocks, and questions about fish farming practices, where will the fish come from?

In Every Last Fish, Rose George dives into these questions by exploring the vast industries that support our appetite for fish sticks and salmon burgers, and the colossal illegal fishing trade whose practices and standards are unmonitored and often dangerous. Journeying to the bottom of the ocean and back, she examines the machinations of this $200 billion food system―one that's growing rapidly even as fish populations disappear.

Along the way, George introduces us to the people on the front lines of fishes and fishing: fishermen, divers, marine biologists, fish fryers, and fishwives. Her journey ends at the fish counter, with guidance for listeners looking to make better choices, both for the ocean's health and their own.

Ranging from Alaska to the United Kingdom to Senegal and beyond, Every Last Fish is an unforgettable trip through the ocean's inhabitants and workers.