World Without Fish: Chapters 2-4

by Mark Kurlansky
In this book, Mark Kurlansky explores threats to the world's oceans and fish populations and describes ways that young people can support sustainable fishing.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Introduction and Chapter 1, Chapters 2-4, Chapters 5-8, Chapters 9-11
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. prosperous
    very lively and profitable
    But they understood that the secret of their game was to catch as many fish as they could while still maintaining a prosperous fish population in their fishing grounds.
  2. migratory
    (of animals) moving seasonally
    Until modern times, fishermen and fishing communities worried most about migratory fish.
  3. innovative
    introducing new ideas or creative methods
    Fishermen tend to be problem solvers by nature, and until there is a problem to solve, they are not particularly interested in new technology (although once there is a problem to solve, they can be extremely innovative).
  4. indiscriminately
    without paying attention to differences
    In 1376, they petitioned the British Parliament to pass a law banning their use because the nets swept up fish indiscriminately, taking many immature young fish.
  5. lucrative
    producing a sizeable profit
    Even though steam-powered vessels had been around for almost eighty years, and were proving to be lucrative for the fishermen that used them, by the 1870s most fishermen were still using sailing power.
  6. obviate
    prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening
    The article claimed the "wasteful destruction of immature fish," was one of the primary problems and that this destruction "cannot be obviated by regulating the size of the mesh nor by returning the undersized fish caught to the sea."
  7. feasible
    capable of being done with means at hand
    The article concluded — as American and European regulators have only recently come to understand — that "the only feasible method is to close off fishing grounds or prohibit the landing of fish."
  8. cautionary
    serving to warn
    Chapter Three: Being the sad, cautionary tale of the orange roughy
  9. stimulate
    cause to act in a specified manner
    The area becomes rich in nitrates, which stimulates the growth of plankton.
  10. ecosystem
    organisms interacting with their physical environment
    A healthy ecosystem is based on the destruction of life and the struggles for survival among species, and it is in such systems that men in the form of fishermen are drawn to take part in the killing
  11. misconception
    an incorrect assumption
    One of mankind's most enduring misconceptions is that of nature's bounty.
  12. indestructible
    not easily ruined
    That's the belief that nature is such a powerful force that it is indestructible.
  13. staunch
    firm and dependable especially in loyalty
    He was a staunch supporter of Darwin's theory of evolution.
  14. preservation
    the activity of protecting something from loss or danger
    The fact is that fisherman need to know almost everything about fish in order to do a good job of catching them, and no one has a deeper involvement in or greater concern for the preservation of fish populations.
  15. diminution
    change toward something smaller or lower
    "Any tendency to over-fishing will meet with its natural check in the diminution of the supply....in other words, we would realize we were overfishing by the simple fact that we were hauling in fewer fish."
Created on Thu Nov 16 08:43:57 EST 2017 (updated Fri Jun 20 15:51:16 EDT 2025)

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