Sea Change is the captivating, deeply-human tale of how fishermen-along with some unlikely allies-helped carry out the biggest conservation success story you've never heard of.
"A narrative shot through with optimism."
-PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Exploring a win for the world's most vital ecosystem, Sea Change tells the story of unlikely partnerships and surprising solutions that are quietly revolutionizing the fishing industry. Like other ocean areas, the Gulf Coast fisheries were being fished out to the detriment of wildlife and the people whose livelihoods and communities hinge on sea catch. Fisherman Keith "Buddy" Guindon had followed every suggested policy and practice to no avail, until he-along with scientists, government agencies, and environmental groups-helped lead real change that is preventing overfishing and securing resource longevity. Sea Change demonstrates that success is possible, that the time is now, and the methods are here to conserve our natural world and the people who depend on it. JAMES WORKMAN is a storyteller, entrepreneur, and author of resilience strategies, including the award-winning book Heart of Dryness. Drawing on fieldwork with Indigenous Kalahari people, he founded AquaShares, a firm pioneering water credit trading. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, Orion, Trout, and Washington Monthly. Workman studied at Yale, Oxford, and Stanford, and taught at Wesleyan and Whitman, but his real education came from restoring wildfires, reintroducing wolves, blowing up dams, smuggling to dissidents, getting married, and raising two daughters.
AMANDA LELAND fell in love with the sea at five years old, when her grandfather taught her to fish. As executive director of the Environmental Defense Fund, Leland brings stakeholders together to support healthy communities and economies while reducing climate impacts. She previously led EDF's Oceans program, a global team in fourteen countries focused on reversing overfishing while supporting those whose livelihoods rely on fish, triggering the dramatic economic and ecological recovery of US fisheries and beyond. An avid kayaker and scuba diver, Leland holds a master's degree in marine biology and lives with her family in Washington, DC. "An upbeat portrait of a revitalized global fishing industry. Readers looking for a climate change narrative shot through with optimism will find this does the trick."
-PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Finally, some good news! An uplifting read that will leave you hopeful about people, our planet, and the power of working together."
-CAROLEE HAZARD, Kepler's Books
"Leland and Workman make a convincing case that empowering fishermen to work together, even as they compete, can create miracles."
-BILL MCKIBBEN, Here Comes the Sun
"Sea Change reveals how those most tied to the sea can, must, and are becoming its greatest protectors. This book will change how you see the ocean-and those who live by it."
-CARL SAFINA, Alfie and Me
"The greatest environmental success story that no one's ever heard of."
-ERIC POOLEY, The Climate War
"The game-changer we didn't know we needed; an eye-opening, exhilarating story of how bold, pragmatic solutions can revive our oceans and redefine the future of seafood."
-RICK MOONEN, James Beard Award winner
"Sea Change is both an antidote to environmental gloom and a fair, deeply informed, and fun read."
-TINA ROSENBERG, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner
"Sea Change reveals one of the great environmental turnarounds of our time. It's essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of our oceans."
-BRUCE BABBITT, former US Secretary of the Interior
"Workman and Leland show us what's possible when seemingly irreconcilable opponents find common ground and work together on a solution that benefits everyone."
-DR. ENRIC SALA, Nati
