A Guide to the Rockfishes, Thornyheads, and Scorpionfishes of the Northeast Pacific

Book excerpt: "This is an exciting book for those who have an interest in the most accurate information regarding the rockfish populous along the California Coast. What an outstanding collection of photos and hard data regarding these species of fish. Our hats off to these 'extreme' scientists who braved the offshore weather to bring us such an information-packed resource. The high-resolution photos of these fish in their natural habitat are amazing, as well as the high-tech methods of capturing these photos through remotely operated vehicles and submersibles. Well done!"--Ken Franke, Sportfishing Association of California "This guide represents a tremendous amount of excellent work stemming from new technology developed to assess the status of species inhabiting rocky and high-relief habitats. Optically assisted acoustics is the future of fishery stock assessments, and rockfish sustainability depends on the kind of visual observations that this book presents."--Bill Fox, World Wildlife Fund "Via submersible technology, excellent photographic contributions, and vast and caring knowledge, John Butler, Milton Love, and Thomas Laidig have brought this wonderful group of fishes to life. Sebastophiles rejoice--a magnificent resource has arrived!"--Andy Lamb, co-author of Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest and Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest "Although rockfishes are an ecologically, economically, and culturally important group, there has not been a guidebook dedicated to their many species and relatives. This excellent volume not only describes the adults but also the commonly seen juveniles, and the superb pictures and detailed descriptions differentiate similar-looking species. A Guide to the Rockfishes, Thornyheads, and Scorpionfishes of the Northeast Pacific will prove invaluable to keen observers of the underwater world, scientists and casual observers alike."--Jan Freiwald, Reef Check California