Helen Scales is the author of the new book Eye of the Shoal: A Fishwatcher's Guide to Life, the Ocean and Everything. Her other books include Spirals in Time and Poseidon's Steed. She teaches marine biology and science writing at Cambridge University, and she's based in Cambridge, England.
Q: You write, “Now is the perfect time to rethink fish and
get to know them better.” Why is this the case?
A: There’s a couple of reasons.
Firstly, we’re learning more about the incredible lives of
fish than ever before. Scientists have a huge range of tools at their
fingertips, they can track fish through the world’s waterways using
miniaturised satellite tags, they can inspect their ear bones and read chemical
traces that reveal where a fish has swum throughout its life, what it ate and
much more besides, and then there are all the technologies now available for
studying further beneath the waves than ever before, right down into the
deepest abyss.
So many incredible discoveries are being made, from sharks
that live for 500 years to pufferfish that make intricate sculpted nests on the
seabed.
The second reason why I think it matters that we get to know
fish better, is the fact that their populations around the world face greater
problems from human activities than ever before. Many species are being
depleted, their habitats are being destroyed and polluted. So now is a crucial
time to appreciate the plight of fish and to find ways of protecting and
looking after them.
Q: How did you research this book, and did you learn
anything that particularly surprised you?
A: I was lucky enough to have a chance to go on a long
journey around the world, while I was researching and beginning to write Eye of
the Shoal. And everywhere I went, I spent as much time as I could beneath the
waves, watching fish.
So I scuba dived, snorkelled and free-dived as much as
possible, including in New Zealand, Australia and Palau (which was my
absolutely favourite — the coral reefs surrounding this cluster of little
islands in the Pacific, are breathtaking!).
One of the most surprising experiences I had was a “fluo”
night dive in Fiji (as featured in chapter 4), when I took a waterproof dive
torch with me that emits deep blue light, so for the first time I could see the
fluorescent glowing colours of the coral reef, including many of the fish that
have this “secret graffiti.”
It was an extraordinary experience and showed me that
there’s so much I’ve been missing because I wasn’t looking at the reef in the
right way.
Q: In the book, you write, “Historically, the idea of what
is and what is not a fish has been considerably shaky.” What do you think is
the best definition of a fish?
A: Nowadays we can confidently say there are no mermaids or “fish
bishops” (men with giant fish on their heads!). That leaves us with a general
definition of fish as being vertebrates (animals with backbones), that live in
water; usually they breathe water through gills and their limbs take the form
of fins.
And we also need to be clear that animals like jellyfish and
starfish are not in fact fish at all, but quite distantly related spineless
invertebrates.
Q: The book also includes stories, interspersed between the
chapters, from various cultures about fish. How did you collect these tales,
and why did you decide to structure the book this way?
A: I’m fascinated by the way stories reflect people’s
attitudes and relationships with nature and other animals, and I was interested
to find out what sort of traditional stories and myths people tell about fish.
So, I started hunting around, mostly through books of
animals myths. I also asked my friends who are familiar with particular
cultures. The story from ancient Egypt, for example, came from a good friend of
mine who’s a brilliant Egyptologist.
I came across many famous stories that include fish as a
central character; these ones are often associated with people catching fish to
eat. But I was especially drawn to the lesser-known stories that demonstrate
other ideas people have about fish, not just as food, such as the earliest
written version of the Cinderella story which didn’t feature a fairy godmother
but a goldfish!
Eventually I found enough stories to include one between
each of my main chapters in the book and illustrate the various ways people
have thought about fish and the different sorts of characters they’ve been
given, from dangerous creatures, to faithful companions and magical, lucky
beasts.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m currently working on my first children’s book. It
will be a nonfiction book about a particular place in the oceans that’s
incredibly important but sadly isn’t in great shape at the moment. I won’t give
away where exactly, but I can say that the illustrations are going to be
beautiful! (It will be published in 2018).
I’m also working on a small book about octopuses. It will be
part of the Ladybird Expert series, based on the famous children’s books that
are well-loved here in Britain (I remember reading lots of Ladybird books as a
kid).
This new series is aimed at adults, offering a concise
primer on a whole range of fascinating topics, including science, history and
all sorts. We’re working on the octopus artwork at the moment, and I’m really
excited to see how it turns out. That one comes out this October.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The stunning illustrations in Eye of the Shoal are the
work of brilliant artist Aaron John Gregory, who also did the artwork for my
previous book Spirals in Time.
It’s been a huge pleasure to work again with AJ, who’s a
fish nerd just like me! We had a lot of fun developing ideas for the cover art,
and for the full-page illustrations that open each chapter (which was AJ’s
idea), and the little drawings that accompany each of my fish stories.
He has an amazing way of taking my ideas and lists of
species and conjuring these beautiful images. He has such an eye for detail,
shape and composition, and knows exactly how to bring the fish alive and lead
your eye through the pictures.
Check out his work (including Eye of the Shoal illustrations
available as T-shirts!).
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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