Swordfish: A Biography of the Ocean Gladiator

by Richard Ellis

A perfect fish in the evolutionary sense, the broadbill swordfish derives its name from its distinctive bill—much longer and wider than the bill of any other billfish—which is flattened into the sword we all recognize. And though the majesty and allure of this warrior fish has commanded much attention—from adventurous sportfishers eager to land one to ravenous diners eager to taste one—no one has yet been bold enough to truly take on the swordfish as a biographer. Who better to do so than Richard Ellis, a master of marine natural history? A Biography of the Ocean Gladiator is his masterly ode to this mighty fighter.The swordfish, whose scientific name means “gladiator,” can take on anyone and anything, including ships, boats, sharks, submarines, divers, and whales, and in this book Ellis regales us with tales of its vitality and strength. Ellis makes it easy to understand why it has inspired so many to take up the challenge of epic sportfishing battles as well as the longline fishing expeditions recounted by writers such as Linda Greenlaw and Sebastian Junger. Ellis shows us how the bill is used for defense—contrary to popular opinion it is not used to spear prey, but to slash and debilitate, like a skillful saber fencer. Swordfish, he explains, hunt at the surface as well as thousands of feet down in the depths, and like tuna and some sharks, have an unusual circulatory system that gives them a significant advantage over their prey, no matter the depth in which they hunt. Their adaptability enables them to swim in waters the world over—tropical, temperate, and sometimes cold—and the largest ever caught on rod and reel was landed in Chile in 1953, weighing in at 1,182 pounds (and this heavyweight fighter, like all the largest swordfish, was a female).Ellis’s detailed and fascinating, fact-filled biography takes us behind the swordfish’s huge, cornflower-blue eyes and provides a complete history of the fish from prehistoric fossils to its present-day endangerment, as our taste for swordfish has had a drastic effect on their population the world over. Throughout, the book is graced with many of Ellis’s own drawings and paintings, which capture the allure of the fish and bring its splendor and power to life for armchair fishermen and landlocked readers alike.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Nature, Biology

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 2013

About the author

Richard Ellis is a celebrated authority on marine biology and America’s foremost marine life artist whose work has been exhibited worldwide. His nine books include The Search for the Giant Squid (a Publishers Weekly 1998 Best Book of the Year), Great White Shark, Encyclopedia of the Sea, Men and Whales, Monsters of the Sea, Deep Atlantic The Book of Whales, and Imagining Atlantis.

Reviews

[Heather Clitheroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things I've learned: swordfish can warm their brains. They have no teeth as adults, but do as juveniles. They're rather stabby. They are riddled with worms and parasites. They may be subject to hormonal rages. They like to bask in the sun.

Probably more than I really ever needed to know about swordfish, but do you really need a reason for learning about a creature that has a built-in brain warmer? I think not.

[Megsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an enjoyable ramble through the biology and ecology of billfishes and squid, with a few brief stops at sharks and some other large pelagic predators. I enjoyed reading it, and even sort of appreciated the stream of consciousness style when it comes to talking about fish (I can relate!). The book has an amazing section on the color and iridescence of fish (p 132) and I like that he delves deeply into fishermen behavior and deep-sea ecology.

Ellis spends a lot of time quoting other people, especially game fishermen whose opinions/views of nature can be pretty suspect. He also doesn't seem to carefully address the issue of stock status for many of the billfish species he covers. The book was published in 2013 but a lot of the status information he cites is from the late 90's and early 2000's. If he had delved more into the ICCAT reports, he would have found up to date stock statuses for billfishes in at least the Pacific and Mediterranean. As of 2016, several marlin stocks and sailfish in the W Atlantic were both overfished and in a state of overfishing (i.e., people were fishing them too hard). Swordfish in the Eastern Pacific and striped marlin in the NE Pacific were at 'healthy' population levels relative to standard reference points.

I like Ellis's style of communication- he seems to assume his reader has a pretty high level of fisheries literacy already and it is a breath of fresh air to read material like that. I appreciated the mix of lore, poetry, and science, and enjoyed vicariously experiencing his love for billfishes.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Ellis writes his natural history biographies as a series of facts with little narrative, and many people may find this annoying. I've always enjoyed this approach. Ellis packs in more facts per page in his books than would be allowable by the personal narrative form could.

The only chapter in Swordfish that contains a personal narrative, Chapter 10 "Benchley and Ellis: Swordfishermen," is the shortest chapter in the book, and despite the all-star cast (Peter Benchley, shark fisherman Frank Mundus, and Ellis)is a little dull. After briefly telling the story of hocking a swordfish aboard Cricket II, Ellis finds the ground on which he is more comfortable ans ends the chapter discussing the decreasing sizes of swordfish caught since that day in 1975.

The final chapter, "The Swordfish and Global Warming," is more about global warming in general and only ends with an almost tacked-on discussion of how climate change may affect swordfish populations. But the bulk of this chapter seems optimistic about the potential recovery ability of collapsed fisheries. This slight optimism was a nice note to end the book on, even though the full peril of the swordfish is detailed throughout the rest of the book.

A good read for the enthusiast.

[Quinby6696 Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

If someone were really interested in swordfish and wanted to read a book about them, then this would be the book for this person - I do not fit that category. I learned far more about swordfish than .... To be fair, the ecological parts were pretty interesting. I learned about long-line fishing and the Permian Extinction and other things I knew nothing about, but mostly the book just brought back not-so-pleasant memories of being dragged aboard deep-sea fishing boats in Florida by my grandfather, an avid sport fisherman, and sitting for hours in a chair in excruciating heat holding a pole. There was one especially gruesome day when I got seasick early on and knew there would be 8 more hours before I could escape that boat - and the cabin was pea green. Erk! I had to read this book for my book group.

[And · Rating 3 out of 5]

The research that is presented of the swordfish are indeed extremely interesting however much is still unknown and at some points pure speculations. Even though swordfishes are supposed to be the main point of this book, there is a huge part of it that covers all other types of billfish, prehistoric aquatic life, and the adverse effect of overfishing and global warming that we are the cause of, that, albeit interesting, definitely seemed to be presented as to add more pages. I suppose though that's why there is "A Biography of the Ocean" on the title to cover the everything else in the book.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of typos to spice up the long paraphrased excerpts of fishing stories, scientific inquiries and slack jawed affection towards an enigma the author has not solved, only gathered the pieces of and strung one after the next in a long line of hyperbole and contradiction.

Example: After citing so many sources on the Swordfish's adaptation to and need for deep cold water, Ellis states: "...no living species seems threatened by the warming of the world's oceans." (Page 236).

[Ann]

Top 5 Science and Nature - PLA

[Milt · Rating 2 out of 5]

UofC free e-book mini read. repetitive, yet pertinent. warning of warming and overuse by human greed and need. needed an editor and a proofreader.

[Jordyn Boettinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book on the history and biology of billfishes, mainly swordfish and marlins. Another great book by Richard Ellis- always a go-to author for me.