Publisher's Weekly Review
In this deep-sea true-crime narrative, journalist Welch entertains and horrifies with tales of poachers and the law enforcement officers devoted to chasing them down. Stories range across the wildlife spectrum, from bears killed for their gallbladders (used "to treat cancers, burns, and liver and stomach problems") to Moonies harvesting baby leopard sharks off California's Catalina Island for pet shops. The book focuses on fisheries in the Pacific Northwest and features the "oversize, ugly, and still somehow charming" geoduck clam, which resembles nothing more than "a giant penis," and an equally larger-than-life Native American fisherman and artist, Doug Tobin, "a charmer, a prankster, a benefactor, and a bully." Tobin, originally enlisted by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife detectives, as an informant to help catch geoduck poachers, ends up stealing millions of dollars worth of geoduck and Dungeness crab, the ecological consequences of which will take decades to evaluate. Welch's vivid depictions and broad coverage of this global, ecologically disastrous illegal trafficking provide a sympathetic glimpse into the dedication and frustration of wildlife crime fighters. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
In his first book, award-winning journalist Welch covers the wildlife crime beat in Puget Sound, where shellfish poachers wreak havoc on the region's once bountiful, now imperiled marine ecosystem. Writing with the sizzle of a mystery novelist, Welch portrays a complex, driven, and irresistible cast of real-life characters, from fish cops Ed Volz and Kevin Harrington to Doug Tobin, a larger-than-life Native American fisherman. Tobin was an invaluable if volatile informant, leading Volz and Harrington to rival underworld shellfish kingpins, but the detectives fear Tobin himself may be a master shellfish thief. What are they trafficking in? Primarily the geoduck (pronounced gooey duck), the world's largest burrowing clam, which lives for decades and resembles male genitalia. In hot demand in Asia as an illicit delicacy, the bivalve, like narcotics, sells for fistfuls of dollars. Replete with sting operations, hit men, boat chases in fog and rain, the nefarious dealings of a famous restaurateur and Reverend Sun Myung Moon, and clever, tenacious, unsung heroes, Welch's utterly compelling true tale of black-market trade in endangered ocean wildlife is astounding and infuriating.--Seaman, Donna Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In this compelling debut, award-winning journalist Welch offers an insider's view of the illegal international trade in protected wildlife. At the heart of the story is the geoduck, a huge and obscene-looking burrowing clam native to the Pacific Northwest. Prized as a culinary delicacy, particularly in Asian markets, geoducks have been victims of illegal poaching for over a century. But in the 1990s, a single enigmatic poacher and his smuggling ring stripped Puget Sound of thousands of pounds and millions of dollars worth of geoducks. Welch draws upon hundreds of interviews with police detectives, divers, smugglers, and federal agents-as well as a nuanced understanding of Washington's cultural and natural history-to weave a fascinating tale of this legendary poaching episode and the resulting environmental disaster. VERDICT Although this work fits squarely in the true-crime category, the criminals are quirky rather than terrifying and the pacing is measured rather than breathless, making it an appropriate choice for readers who prefer less intensity in true-crime narratives. Like Mark Griffiths's The Lotus Quest (reviewed above), this will also appeal to readers who enjoyed Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief. [Ebook edition: ISBN 978-0-06-198798-4.]-Kelsy Peterson, Prairie Village, KS (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
