Just when opting for omega-three-rich seafood is recognized as one of the healthiest dietary choices a person can make, the news seems to be full of stories about mercury-laden tuna, shrimp contaminated with antibiotics and collapsing fish stocks. In a world of endangered cod, pirate-caught Chilean sea bass and sealice-infested salmon, can we really continue to order the catch of the day in good conscience?

Bottomfeeder is a seafood lover’s round-the-world quest for a truly decent meal. From strip mall Red Lobsters to the rotary sushi bars of Tokyo, Taras Grescoe travels to the end of the seafood supply chain and back. He pulls up lobster traps in Nova Scotia, grills three-star Michelin chefs in Manhattan and visits British Columbia’s salmon farms with a guerrilla ecologist. Sampling poisonous pufferfish in Japan and live, drunken shrimp in China, Grescoe discovers how out-of-control pollution, unregulated fishing practices and global warming are affecting the fish that end up on our plates.

Bottomfeeder is a balanced and practical guide to eating—the first book, in fact, to provide readers with a clear explanation of how to choose the best fish for our environment and our bodies.

TARAS GRESCOE is the author of four books, including the bestselling Bottomfeeder, which won the 2008 Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize and the Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-fiction. Two other titles, Sacré Blues and The End of Elsewhere, were shortlisted for Writers’ Trust awards. His work has appeared in a great variety of major publications including The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Gourmet, The Globe and Mail, Canadian Geographic, The Times (UK) and The Independent. He lives in Montreal. Visit him online at www.tarasgrescoe.com.

Taras Grescoe's profile page