Ian Urbina

I was drawn to read this because I've always been fascinated by books about adventures at sea, most of which reflect a time far distant from the present in technology and worldview if not in actual years. Urbina's book promised to provide an updated version of life on the high seas, an opportunity to get behind the headlines of familiar topics like whaling and piracy and to learn about others even less pleasant, particularly slavery. It's all too easy to look away from these realities and I wanted the challenge of facing into them.

And The Outlaw Ocean delivers. As Urbina presents a wealth of information about the ways in which the oceans are used and abused in the 21st century it becomes clear that there is no effective "law" in the common areas of the ocean, those places no nation has the right, and perhaps more importantly the responsibility, to police. Sadly enough, even when it might be possible to take action against some truly evil activities, greed and corruption stand in the way.

While reading about fish populations being decimated and coral reefs despoiled is hard enough, the most horrific chapter addressed slavery at sea. Think of those impressed sailors you've read of in history and in fiction, crossed with the "company towns" tied to industries like mining, where it is impossible to leave because you always owe more than you earn. Impoverished men from countries with little economic opportunity are lured into spending years at sea, out of touch with family, hidden from view when other ships are near, sometimes shackled, frequently beaten, and periodically sold to other ships. Reading about this is tough sledding.

I think what made it possible for me to finish the book (it was certainly not the prospect of a happy ending) was the author's journalistic writing style. Very little in the book is hearsay. Urbina spent months at sea, year after year, often under extremely unpleasant and dangerous conditions, collecting the information and stories he shares. He struggles with inner conflicts between his job of bearing witness as a journalist and his innate human desire to try to help those suffering the worst abuses. It all comes together to engage me as a reader, but with enough distance that I didn't want to run away.

It's not a book for everyone, but I'm glad I read it. Although I may not eat tuna for a while...… (meer)