On the West Coast, catching fish is a way of life, celebrated in these writings, oral histories and photographs about the people who build the boats and bring in the fish. This book, the result of a three-decade infatuation with fishing boats and fishing people, salutes those fishers and everyone else who builds the boats, fixes the gear and brings in the fish - from humpback to halibut, from draggers to double-deckers.

The book has more than 200 photographs from the author's collection, oral histories from the Native Canadians, Dalmatians, Japanese, Norwegians, Vietnamese and others who created the rich culture of our fishing industry, historical background on the war years and the fisherman's union, an introduction to women in the industry, and even a chapter on the Zen of seining.

Alan Haig-Brown learned to swim in the 1950s, among the humpback salmon in the Campbell River. He seined salmon and herring until 1973, and served for eleven years as coordinator of Indian education in the Cariboo-Chilcotin. Haig-Brown became editor of the West Coast Fisherman in 1986 and later founded The West Coast Mariner and The West Coast Logger. His award-winning books for Harbour Publishing include Fishing for a Living and The Fraser River.

Alan Haig-Brown's profile page

• Winner, Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice Award for BC Book of the Year