Expanding on the author's year-long study of the shrimp and salmon aquaculture industries as an Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellow, the book lays out the rationale behind aquaculture development: increasing the world food supply and creating jobs in areas hard hit by declining landings in wild fisheries. However, reality is something else entirely: ravaged ecosystems and bankrupted local economies. The author expands on his existing case studies, near his homes in eastern Maine, and Sonora, Mexico, and links them to events in other parts of the world.
The author's 30 years experience in fisheries and aquaculture qualifies him to weigh the rhetoric and sift out the truth of this story. In six years as a freelance journalist, writing for the New York Times, Yankee, National Fisherman, and other publications, he has managed to describe complex material in an interesting and palatable style.