Eat Like a Fish

March 25, 2019
Smith combines memoir and sustainability treatise with mixed success while recounting his path from a rugged youth fishing the Bering Sea to inventing 3D ocean farming, a process that harvests a mixture of shellfish and ocean greens. In addition to telling his own story, he celebrates sea greens, gives guidance on starting an ocean farm (“Keeping Your Farm Afloat”), and looks back at the history, and into the future, of ocean farming. Any of these subjects could make a book of its own, and the resulting mélange is overstuffed and disappointingly under-realized. However, the work does have its highlights, such as discussions of the positive impacts brought about by ocean farming—sustainable food production, increased employment, improved ocean water quality—and of the many, sometimes surprising, uses of seaweed in fertilizer, animal feed, and fireproofing. Smith even provides seaweed recipes for at-home experimentation, such as Barbecue Kelp and Carrots, Kelp and Cauliflower Scampi, and Kelp Butter. This uneven but sometimes rewarding work shines a needed light on a lesser-known area of sustainable agriculture.

There's a rough edge to author/narrator Bren Smith's enthusiastic voice as he promotes undersea farming. The founder of Greenwave lets his experiences--which include stints of rough living, life as a commercial fisherman, and drug abuse--shape his tone. He gives listeners a sense of how his advocacy has developed. The rough spots give way to gentleness as he reflects on the meditative power of repetitive, solitary work. Smith believes that his sea crops--not only clams and scallops but also kelp and sea vegetables--will one day be dietary staples as their benefits to the climate become more widely recognized. Smith encourages listeners to join his effort, even providing a PDF with recipes they can try themselves. J.A.S. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine