Upstream: Searching for Wild Salmon, from River to Table

In this insightful book, Cook (The Mushroom Hunters) clearly outlines scientific information about the species of fish commonly known as salmon, giving details on the salmon’s life cycle, distribution, preferred habitat, and physical appearance. But the focus here is less on facts and research and more on how “Pacific salmon culture in North America is a dance between fish and humanity.” Cook connects with chefs, fishermen, ecologists, fish wranglers, reef netters, Native Americans, a “bearded masturbator of fish,” and countless others to get their perspectives on the state of dwindling salmon stocks and the impact on them of fish hatcheries, commercial fishing, dam building/removal, and wildlife conservation. The answers can be a little depressing at times, especially considering that the salmon’s troubles are almost exclusively man-made. But Cook also finds a lot of hope for salmon’s recovery in places such as the Elwha River in Washington State, where dams had been removed; in Seattle’s urban pink-salmon fishery, the Duwamish River; and in experiments such as the Nigiri Project, which ties flooding for sushi-rice production to increased California salmon habitat. In the end, Cook acknowledges that salmon’s recovery, just like its demise, will come from people. As one set-in-his-ways rancher tells Cook, “It’s gonna take a while. Because a bunch of people my age still need to die.” That may be the case, but for those who want to live to see the salmon recapture its former glory, this work is a great place to learn what needs to done—and an entertaining view on the positive and negative connections human have with the natural environment. [em](May) [/em]