https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/7754/

By Rebecca Tansley

CSIRO Publishing

ISBN: 9781486308125

AU$49.95

Big Pacific is an impressive and insightful foray into the natural wonders that can be found throughout the world’s largest ocean basin. The combination of stunning high-definition images with thoughtful and educational information, provides a well-balanced review of the amazing diversity of life in the Pacific Ocean.

By splitting the content into four areas – “Passionate Pacific”, “Voracious Pacific”, “Mysterious Pacific” and “Violent Pacific”, the reader is able to learn about many aspects of the life cycles of marine life in the Pacific, including hunting behaviour, reproduction and migrations, combined with background information about the history, geology and geography of the region. A particularly fascinating aspect of the book is its coverage of unique and little-known animal behaviours, such as where the peppered moray eel exits the water and slithers across rocks to hunt its prey in rockpools, and the strange mass breeding events undertaken by Gulf grunions in Mexico. Large-scale images of impressive megafauna such as whale sharks, blue whales, great white sharks and the Nomura’s jellyfish, are beautifully contrasted with exquisite macro photography of octopus hatchlings and the intimacy of a wolf eel mother as it protects its brood.

Importantly, alongside this information about the wonderful diversity of life in the Pacific, the book covers a range of environmental and socio-economic issues that threaten these species, and the wider ecosystems they inhabit. Plastic pollution, invasive species, climate change, coastal development and turtle poaching are all discussed and illustrated with excellent photography. A particularly shocking example is the first-hand observation of the impacts of dynamite fishing in the Philippines, which the photographers witnessed whilst searching for Dugong. The story behind the making of the book is told in a highly engaging way, using photographs and detailed descriptions of hurdles that had to be overcome, including the use of a battery operated heated suit to allow photographer Peter Kragh to remain underwater for long hours in water of 6-7˚ Celsius.

The format and layout of Big Pacific has been cleverly designed to engage the reader by mixing up the size and positioning of text and images, so that each section is varied and unique, rather than following a single pattern throughout. This enables even the casual reader to open the book at any page and immediately become hooked by the impressive images and informative text. Overall, this is a well-rounded and fascinating book that is accessible to all ages and knowledge levels, and the incredible images throughout Big Pacific make it a vital addition to the bookshelf of any ocean lover.

By Jonathan Mitchell