Written by a world authority on marine conservation. Highly topical - Constant item in the news, and a large concern for much of the public. Uses involving stories of individuals as an example of broader trends, thus making history both exciting and relevant to our current political and social climate.

Callum Roberts is Professor of Marine Conservation, Environment Department, University of York. He has spent most of his career studying the effects of fishing on marine life and seeking ways to improve ocean management. A prolific writer, he has co-authored four books and published over seventy research papers. He has also advised the US, British and Caribbean governments on the creation of marine reserves.

Part1: Explorers and exploiters in the age of plenty: Chapter 1: The end of innocence Chapter 2: Early origins of intensive sea fishing Chapter 3: New Found Lands Chapter 4: Rediscovery of plenty in New World estuaries Chapter 5: Plunder of the Caribbean Chapter 6: The age of merchant adventurers Chapter 7: Global expansion of whaling Chapter 8: To the ends of the earth for seals Chapter 9: The great fisheries of Europe Chapter 10: The first trawling revolution Chapter 11: The dawn of industrial fishing Part 2: The modern era of industrial fishing Chapter 12: The inexhaustible sea Chapter 13: Bering Sea revisited Chapter 14: Emptying European seas Chapter 15: The Grand Banks no longer grand Chapter 16: Slow death of an estuary - Chesapeake Bay Chapter 17: Ghost reefs in the Caribbean Chapter 18: Shifting environmental baselines in the Gulf of California Chapter 19: Serial depletion on the Pacific coast Chapter 20: Hunting the high plains of the open sea Chapter 21: Penetrating the last great wilderness Chapter 22: No place left to hide Part 3: The once and future ocean: Chapter 23: Where to from here: Barbequed jellyfish or swordfish steak? Chapter 24: Reinventing fishery management Chapter 25: Opening a window to the past with marine reserves Chapter 26: Looking forward: A global network of marine protected areas