Catch: How Fishing Companies Reinvented Slavery And PlunderThe, The

Description

On November 9, 2008, near Kiribati in the Pacific, a Korean ship came alongside Tai Ching 21. The Taiwan-flagged fishing boat was eerily silent. Three life rafts were missing, and all 29 of the Taiwanese officers and Chinese, Indonesian and Filipino crew. A quest to discover the men's identities led journalist Michael Field into a dark world of foreign-flagged vessels fishing the waters of New Zealand, other Pacific nations, and the Southern Ocean. He uncovered brutality, misery and death - and impending ecological disaster: the destruction of the last great southern schools of fish. With researchers from University of Auckland, he forced the New Zealand government to take action - but with huge money at stake the plunder and appalling working conditions continue. And more and more boats are now risking lives and maritime disaster heading south to catch toothfish, most destined for New York restaurants and Las Vegas casino hotels.

Authors Bio, not available

"Abuse of fishing crews is reported globally. Field vividly documents it in an unexpected area -- New Zealand territorial waters." --Jennifer Burn, director, Anti-Slavery Australia "Michael Field's narrative of slavery and other illegal practices in the deep-sea fishing industry is both enlightening and horrifying." --Christina Stringer, University of Auckland Business School "This bold book takes the reader into the heart of the secretive fishing industry to expose the ugly truth about its out-of-sight out-of-mind activities. You will no longer look at the fish on your plate in the same way." --Glenn Simmons, New Zealand Asia Institute "Michael Field is a journo from the old school, chasing hard news by drilling down through the layers of corporate BS. Through sheer hard work and sniffing out leads, he has come up with the goods. This is hard-edged journalism, not once-over news presented for its entertainment value only." --New Zealand Fishing News "This is a well-researched and comprehensive account of the ecological and human costs of exploitation in New Zealand's and the global maritime sector. Michael Field pulls no punches in this book, which is investigative journalism at its best." --Victor Billot, Otago Daily Times "Veteran journalist Michael Field is among the few people who can truly say they've helped change the world we live in." --Rose Cawley, Auckland City Harbour News