The Last Great Sea

Patrick Colgan is the former executive director of the Canadian Museum
of Nature.

Glavin, a travel writer and columnist based in British Columbia, has
written an excellent “voyage through the human and natural history of
the north Pacific Ocean,” as subtitled. The narrative cycles smoothly
through mythology, anthropology, and oceanography in a pleasing blend of
information and emotion that links the ocean and the peoples associated
with it. The oral history of Native peoples is woven with archaeological
findings to reveal the sequence of migrations, settlements, and
devastation by small pox. Issues such as artifacts far from their
source, similarities between Japanese and Zuni pottery, and the
pan-Pacific voyage of the dugout cedar canoe Tillikum are well featured.
Imperial expeditions (often emphasizing natural history) from Russia and
Western Europe are clearly recounted.

The review of scientific findings includes intriguing cases, such as
the impact of decaying salmon bodies on energy flow in coastal rivers.
The history of whaling and fur sealing is graphically depicted.
Especially important are the ripple effects of harvesting species from a
community (e.g., when salmon are scarce, eagles and grizzlies decline).
Extinctions such as those of Steller’s sea cow and the spectacled
cormorant, and the slow international effort to restrain destructive
driftnet fishing, are appropriately highlighted.

The final chapter, on “necessary mysteries” of the north Pacific,
is a wonderful blend of fact and value. Glavin correctly emphasizes such
key topics as the depth of human involvement, the controversial hunt of
gray whale by the Makah, and the importance of the precautionary
principle for use of resources. Outstanding Canadian scientists such as
Bill Ricker and Dick Beamish are deservedly profiled.

Minor flaws include the citation of Michel Foucault’s Chinese
taxonomy as factual when it is fictional. The book includes a few maps
but would surely have benefited from some illustrations. The reader will
wish to learn more about many topics, but certainly the appetite has
been whetted. Highly recommended for all who care about oceans.