song for the blue ocean PT 2: More than about fish

The book 'song for the blue ocean' is more than about fish - or the decline and destruction of fish.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the book is about forests as well - and the decline and destruction of forests.

Though extremely well-written, and highly recommended, the book could easily have been called 'trouble for the blue ocean.'

Why so many pages, so much information about forests in a book about fish?

I read the following about deforestation:

"The implications of deforestation (in the Pacific North-west) went far beyond the (spotted) owl, but the owl attracted more than its share of headlines and attention. Many species suffered from forest destruction - salmon included. Yet in the din over the owl even conservationists almost totally overlooked the salmon who were quietly blinking out in run after run, stream after stream." (pg. 173)

[Def'n - salmon run; a location in a river where salmon spawn and mature before entering the ocean; a run can be miles long]

[Def'n - blinking out; a quiet way of saying dying out, or disappearing from our radar screen]

And why do salmon blink out after forests are destroyed?

Carl Safina writes:

"Over a clear-cut several square miles in extent, Fran (pilot) points out a draw where the land has been sliding (eroding) into a creek, saying, "It hurts fish by clogging the gravels."

"Silt can be murder on salmon eggs, slowing water circulation and thus strangling salmon embryos. Much of the silt comes from log roads. No one in the world builds more roads than the U.S. Forest Service: 360,000 miles of roads (and growing) lace and filigree our national forests - seven times the aggregate length of America's interstate highway system." (pg. 167)

On those roads, trees are delivered to waiting mills and ships. Jobs leave the country by those roads. (US tax dollars at work).

And because of those roads a salmon industry is being bludgeoned. More jobs are leaving - on the US tax payers' dime.

'song for the blue ocean' is definitely more than about fish.

***

I wonder if the same problems can be seen in Canada, i.e., over-fishing, over-foresting, sending jobs out of the country?

Any good books out there about the Canadian resource and job scene?

.