Vanishing Species is a narrative about groundfishing in New England waters over a five-year period when both the fish and the fishermen are threatened with extinction. It is also the story of the people who are laboring to save the fish, and of those who are laboring to save the fishermen. It is a story that should be read by anyone who likes to eat fresh fish and anyone who loves coastal communities. To some scientists and environmentalists, the fish stocks remain at levels too low to sustain further harvesting of the resource; to the fishermen, the fish are returning. Vanishing Species tells the story of these conflicting beliefs. Playfair has written a compelling book that asks how fish stocks became so low that they are endangered, and whether the fishermen are at fault or are merely scapegoats for a larger problem.
Based in large part on interviews with a wide range of people - fishermen and their families, restaurant managers, environmentalists, fisheries scientists, politicians, and government officials - Vanishing Species offers a series of unforgettable portraits of people who are involved in the struggle to find a way to support sustainable fishing and the communities that rely on it.