There is a new book, published by Rhode Island Sea Grant and the National Marine Fisheries Service, called “Guide to Sharks, Tunas & Billfishes of the U.S. Atlantic & Gulf of Mexico.â€
It's a wire bound, water-resistant handbook chocked full of color photographs and drawings of 44 different species, all commonly found in the Atlantic. The book lists characteristics of each fish and specifically outlines those characteristics that distinguish similar fish.
The book also includes tips for reducing the risk of shark attack as well as procedures for the handling and release of entangled marine mammals such as bottlenose dolphins and endangered species such as sea turtles.
The intention of the handbook is to help fishermen and fish dealers who must sort through all the government seasons and size limits on different species - some of which can look quite like another.
For instance, I've been told that a young bluefin tuna can look a good bit like a yellowfin tuna. But the regulations on the two fish are different.
With this book I can see that the yellowfin tuna has pectoral fins that reach to or beyond the origin of the second dorsal fin while the pectoral fins on a bluefin tuna are short and end well before the origin of the second dorsal fin.
Sounds like the book might make a handy guide for anyone who regularly goes after these fish.
Buy the book for $25 from Rhode Island Sea Grant. Call (401) 874-6842 or visit http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu