People ask me all the time where to start with seafood. Not necessarily the recipes, but the bigger stuff. Where fish come from, who decides how many we catch, the history that shaped the dishes we eat today, and most importantly, the people behind it all.
So here are 23 of my best fishy recommendations. Some I read for grad school, some I read on a boat, a few I've reread more than once. They don't all agree with each other, and that's the point. The most interesting thing about seafood is that the smartest people in the room are always arguing.
Start here
Bottomfeeder — Taras Grescoe
A good entry point if you want to think more critically about seafood without feeling like you are reading a textbook. It's witty, sharp, and really makes you question what ethical seafood consumption actually looks like. Truly, one of my favourite seafood books that’s been written.
Four Fish — Paul Greenberg
Salmon, sea bass, cod, tuna. Four species that took over the world's menus, and the story of how we had to domesticate the last wild food.
Why Sustainable Seafood Matters — David Shiffman
Shiffman cuts through the greenwashing and the colour-coded labels and answers the questions people are actually asking at the fish counter. Science-based and tastefully nuanced.
The Omega Principle — Paul Greenberg
I like this one because it blends seafood, nutrition, and environmental storytelling. I love books that connect what we eat to much bigger questions, and this one does that in a way that feels really personal.
One fish, one much bigger story
Cod — Mark Kurlansky
An absolute classic. This book is about the famous cod, but it also tells a much bigger story about culture, trade, history, and power.
Kings of Their Own Ocean — Karen Pinchin
Such a fascinating read. This book uses tuna as the lens, but it is really about power, globalization, obsession, and the messy future of the ocean. Super compelling and beautifully written.
A Twist in the Tail — Christopher Beckman
How the anchovy — dismissed for centuries as a worthless little fish — ended up flavouring Western cuisine. This is so well researched and an insanely fun read. And I LOOOOVE anchovies, so this has a special place in my heart.
The Story of Sushi — Trevor Corson
Corson follows students through sushi school while weaving in the biology and history of the fish they're handling. This is a book that makes you better in the kitchen and better informed about the ocean.
The Lobster Trap — Greg Mercer
New, and essential if you're in Atlantic Canada. This book reports on the money, the black market, Indigenous fishing rights, and warming water — all converging on the species our coastal economies lean on hardest.
On the half shell
A Geography of Oysters — Rowan Jacobsen
The book that taught a generation of eaters the word merroir. Region by region, variety by variety. You will enjoy oysters completely differently after this.
The Oyster Companion: A Field Guide — Patrick McMurray
From my friend Shucker Paddy, a local Toronto shucker with two Guinness World Records to his name. This guide provides fifty-plus varieties, anatomy, technique, and how to open one without ending up in the emergency room. Trust me, this will become your oyster bible.
Oyster Society — Virginia Shaffer
In this book, “Lady Oyster” follows her own obsession from a first farm visit into the whole subculture: growers, shuckers, chefs, competitions. Part food memoir, part portrait of an industry most seafood lovers never see from the inside. A reminder of what matters most: the people.
The argument at the centre of fisheries science
Vanishing Fish — Daniel Pauly
This book completely shifts the way you think about fisheries decline. It is one of the best explanations of shifting baselines and why we have gotten way too comfortable accepting less and less from the ocean over time.
Ocean Recovery — Ray & Ulrike Hilborn
You can’t read Daniel Pauly without also reading Ray Hilborn, the two most respected researchers in fisheries science have very different perspectives. In this book, Hilborn paints a much more positive picture of sustainable seafood and swears well managed fisheries can stand the test of time.
All the Fish in the Sea — Carmel Finley
The origin story of maximum sustainable yield — the concept that still underpins how the world manages fish. Finley pulls back the curtain on fisheries science and politics. This one is for the real fisheries science nerds.
Governing Sustainable Seafood — Simon R. Bush & Peter Oosterveer
On the contrary, this is very much a textbook, but this book was my best friend in grad school. So worth it if you want to understand how decisions about seafood are made.
Eating the Ocean — Elspeth Probyn
Probyn takes the culture and politics of eating fish as seriously as the biology. It's a useful corrective to the idea that a label on a package settles the question for you. Challenging in the best way.
The Price of Fish — Michael Mainelli & Ian Harris
A fascinating book that treats fisheries as the case study for every tangled problem where economics and ecology collide. Useful if you want the birds eye view of the global seafood system.
The people who actually catch it
The Hungry Ocean — Linda Greenlaw
A swordfish captain's account of thirty days on the Grand Banks (yes, like the Perfect Storm). This is a bit of a different read than the others on this list, but I love it for the real, human storytelling.
The Outlaw Ocean — Ian Urbina
This book is intense, but incredibly important. It shines a light on the violence, exploitation, and lawlessness that can exist at sea, and serves as a sobering reminder of how much work still needs to be done to protect human rights in the seafood industry.
When it goes wrong
Lament for an Ocean — Michael Harris
One of the most exciting seafood books I've ever picked up. This is a true-crime investigation into the collapse of the northern cod and the 1992 moratorium that put 30,000 Newfoundlanders out of work overnight. It tries to explain who really killed the cod and as with anything in seafood, the answer is complicated.
The Death and Life of the Great Lakes — Dan Egan
Required reading for those of us who live on the Great Lakes. This reads like a historical thriller (in good and bad ways).
Where it's headed
The Blue Revolution — Nicholas P. Sullivan
I love this one because it zooms out and shows just how much seafood is changing in real time. Whereas most seafood books are looking at the past, this one paints a picture of the future.
SHOP THE FULL READING LIST HERE.
