Rose George is a journalist renowned for plunging into the global systems and unseen industries that underpin modern life—from the surprising realities of human waste and sanitation (The Big Necessity) to the massive, hidden world of international shipping (Deep Sea and Foreign Going), and the essential, complex story of blood (Nine Pints). She is a master of revealing the serious, systemic issues lurking beneath the seemingly mundane.
Now, she turns her investigative focus to the world beneath the waves with her latest book, Every Last Fish.
This is more than a book about dinner; George takes us inside the colossal legal and illegal fishing industries, exploring the creatures themselves, the dangerous conditions faced by the people who catch them, and the communities striving to stay afloat. For those eager to understand the full cost of what lies on our plates, George’s work is essential reading.
You have a chance to hear Rose George discuss her intrepid reporting in person! She will be giving a talk about Every Last Fish at the beloved Edge of the World bookshop in Penzance on October 30th. Don't miss this opportunity to dive deep into one of the planet's most vital and overlooked industries.
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? For the first time in history, humans are eating more farmed fish than wild, and our fish consumption is predicted to increase. 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. She presents minnows who shout; discovers the underwater soap operas of wolffish; and, despite her constant seasickness, boards trawlers to see firsthand the impact of fishing on our emptying oceans. Her journey ends at the fish counter, with guidance for readers 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. With irresistible wit and an eye for the unusual, George reveals the unseen and endangered world behind what you buy at the seafood counter, while also bringing to life that dead fish on your plate.
