Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
By Mark Kurlansky. This is a beautifully written, award-winning, cautionary story of the European and North American mismanagement that caused the disastrous collapse of the North Atlantic cod fishery.
Explore the Salish Sea: A Nature Guide for Kids
By Joseph K. Gaydos and Audrey DeLella Benedict. Think of this as the companion book to “The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest” only written to engage kids. It shares the same beautiful photography and offers explanations and fun facts in a way that kids can understand and embrace.
By Keith Sverdrup and Raphael Kudela. This is an Oceanography 101 course textbook that is meant for non-technical beginners and provides a solid introduction to geological, physical, chemical and biological oceanography fundamentals.
Not on My Watch: How a renegade whale biologist took on governments and industry to save wild salmon
By Alexandra Morton. Want to know what is wrong with marine fish farming? Read this. This is a story of a decades-long fight to protect salmon in the Salish Sea in British Columbia. We have some of the same problems in the Salish Sea in the U.S. You might never eat another farmed salmon again.
Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them
By Ted Danson and Michael D’Orso. Easy to read, highly motivating, thorough, and full of helpful illustrations, this book has significantly accelerated my understanding of the impact humans are having on our global ocean and what we need to do to restore and protect it.
Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home
By Lynda Mapes. In this stunningly beautiful book, Mapes tells the story of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. Mapes has told their stories for years working as the lead environmental journalist for the Seattle Times. For this book, she pulls all of her work together. The book also features stunning imagery by Times photographer Steve Ringman, as well as from partner organizations including The Whale Museum, NOAA, and Center for Whale Research.
Plastic Ocean: How a Sea Captain’s Chance Discovery Launched a Determined Quest to Save the Oceans
By Charles Moore and Cassandra Phillips. Captain Charles Moore is regarded by many as a hero of the modern ocean conservation movement. In 1997, he became the first to collect water samples that amounted to a “plastic soup” from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, also referred to as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”. He documents his findings from that early voyage, explains how we caused this mess and describes the implications for both marine and human life.
The Salish Sea: Jewel of the Pacific Northwest
By Audrey DeLella Benedict and Joseph K. Gaydos. More than a picture book, though the pictures are stunning, this is an easy-to-read history of the Salish Sea, its people, plants, animals, and relationship with the surrounding forests and river systems that form its watershed basin.
Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate
By Mark Kurlansky. I’m just a big Kurlansky fan. As he did with “Cod”, Kurlansky gives us a history of man’s relationship with salmon via a fascinating story. It’s thick, but well worth the time invested.
Water 4.0: The Past, Present, and Future of the World’s Most Vital Resource
By David Sedlak. Admittedly a book about the history of urban water infrastructure, this fascinating story articulates the critical intersection between our water distribution and wastewater systems and the ocean.
We Are Puget Sound: Discovering and Recovering the Salish Sea
By David Workman, Leonard Forsman, Mindy Roberts and Brian Cantwell. This book focuses on the Puget Sound component of the Salish Sea. It looks at the intersection between ecology, economics, social justice, and people as it illustrates the intricate balance of life we enjoy here. It offers helpful maps to help you explore and a list of actions we can all take to protect it.
© Into the Salish Sea 2025
