I
would never have imagined the amount of money that could be made from
illegal harvesting of clams in Puget Sound nor the resulting long
term damage. The profit could be in the millions of dollars and the
time necessary to restore the marine beds about four decades. Welch
gives a good account of agents from the Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife as they completed undercover operations to catch those
illegally harvesting Dungeness crab and goeducks.
While
the action in this book took place nearly two decades ago, the tales
told are relevant today. Welch gives several examples of illegal
trade in animals that resulted in deadly sickness from viruses. Some
of the shellfish were harvested illegally during algal blooms. Such
blooms can poison the shellfish and cause harm to humans.
Illegal
animal and plant trade is big business worldwide. Welch's book is a
good account of agents capturing and seeing the conviction of one man
who stole wealth from the bottom of Puget Sound and called himself
“The Goeduck Gotti.”
My
rating: 4/5 stars.
Craig
Welch is an environmental writer at National Geographic. When he
wrote Shell Games, Welch was the environmental reporter for The
Seattle Times, where he worked for fourteen years. His award winning
articles have appeared in several publications. He was part of the
team that won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the deadliest
landslide in U.S. history. He lives in Seattle with his wife and
daughter. You can find out more at www.craig-welch.com.
Photo: Meryl Schenker.
Harper
Collins, 291 pages
(My
star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it,
1-I hate it.)
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