This deluxe edition includes a limited edition print suitable for framing and signed by the artist, James Prosek. The book for the deluxe limited editon will be bound in a special case embossed with the outline of one of Prosek's iconic fish. Book and print will be nestled together in a beautiful cloth clamshell case featuring a tipped-on image on top and a silk pull ribbon within In the tradition of his acclaimed Trout: An Illustrated History, renowned naturalist, artist, and fisherman James Prosek captures 35 of the most pursued fish--from striped bass to tarpon, swordfish to bonefish--as well as many creatures that share these marine ecosystems--from lobsters to shells to beach plants--through rich watercolors painted specifically for this handsome volume.

Ocean Fishes is James Prosek's personal tribute to marine beauty unlike any published before--based on travel, intense observation, work with scientists, and stories of those who know the fish most intimately, the fishermen (both recreational and commercial). It is also the author's quiet conservation statement. In showing the beauty and monumentality of these fish, Prosek is urging us to preserve what we have before it is lost. These paintings give the reader a privileged view of a fish fresh from the ocean when its changing colors first glint in the sun--a view ordinarily glimpsed only by the fishermen on the boat.

This book is not intended as a scientific catalogue of ocean fishes. Each painting reflects Prosek's individual experience with a single fish--the artist traveled the Atlantic from Nova Scotia to the Cape Verde Islands to see each species firsthand as it came out of the water before it lost its living colors. The original paintings are all life-size portraits (from a 14-inch porgy to a 12-foot, 8-inch blue marlin) and will be exhibited at several venues from Monaco to Philadelphia. Details from these original works are reproduced at full-size in the book to give a sense of scale.

This book is a must-have for saltwater anglers, professional fishermen, conservationists, art lovers, beachcombers, and anyone who is passionate about the beauty of the beach and coastline and the mysteries swimming off of its shores.