Synopses & Reviews
With breathtaking images and compelling stories, an underwater photographer chronicles the glory, and devastation, of our changing oceans.
When author Jeff Rotman began his adventures as an underwater photographer more than 40 years ago, he relished the beauty of the deep sea and the thrill of the hunt. A member of an elite group of photographers, he has captured iconic photographs of sharks and other creatures of the deep that can be seen in National Geographic as well as the Discovery Channels Shark Week television series.
Rotmans passion for photographing marine life took a dramatic turn when he found a pile of sharks at the bottom of the sea stripped of their fins and left to die by rogue fisherman. The Last Fisherman documents the catastrophic changes in ocean wildlife and the people whose lives depend on hunting it.
Rotman has witnessed the near commercial collapse of cod fisheries in the North Atlantic and the growth of illegal poaching in the protected waters of Cocos Island which threatens this fragile ecosystem long admired by divers for the shark and ray populations. His journey mirrors our view of the oceans as places of wonder, to the fragile hunting grounds they are today. In his introduction, marine biologist Les Kaufman discusses how the emptying out of the oceans” has progressed over time. But he also includes stories of hope as scientists, fishermanand observers like Jeff Rotmancome to agree that the time is now for a new approach to the most fundamental of human activities, finding sustenance in the water around us.
Review
"Rotman...transform[s] information about the catastrophic changes in the ocean into a poignant personal narrative." Publisher's Weekly
"This book is not only a treasure to be cherished by nature enthusiasts but also an intriguing resource that ought to make its way into science classrooms." Publisher's Weekly
"Looks at the beauty and the tragedy." Chicago Tribune
"Otherworldly stunning." Chicago Tribune
"Wow." Chicago Tribune
Synopsis
The Last Fisherman chronicles the adventures of an elite underwater photographer who began his career by taking pictures of the beauty of the deep sea and turned to documenting catastrophic changes in ocean wildlife and the people who hunt it.
About the Author
Jeffrey L. Rotman is one of the world's leading underwater photographers. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1949, he learned to dive and began shooting underwater more than 40 years ago in the waters of the North Atlantic. His work has been featured on television and in magazines and books worldwide, including Shark Week on the Discovery Channel,
National Geographic,
Life,
Time,
Smithsonian,
Natural History,
The New York Times Magazine,
Geo,
Stern, and
Paris-Match. Among his recent honors, Rotman was recognized as the BBC Underwater Wildlife Photographer of the Year and was awarded the top prize for best science photograph of the year by the American National Press Photographers Association and the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Rotman is the author of numerous books including
Shark! and
Underwater Eden 365 Days. He lives in New Jersey.
Yair Harel is the author of educational books, multi-media Internet sites, and other publications of popular science. He is also a screenplay writer for TV dramas and a novelist. Harel, also a diver, lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Les Kaufman, PhD, is Professor of Biology in Boston Universitys marine biology program. He is also a Marine Conservation Fellow for Conservation International and a Research Scholar at the New England Aquarium. He received the 2009 Partners in Conservation Award from the Secretary of the Interior for his work on the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2011 he received the Parker Gentry Award for Conservation Biology.