No matter where we live, “we are all ocean people,” Helen Scales emphatically observes in her bracing yet hopeful exploration of the future of the ocean. Beginning with its fascinating deep history, Scales links past to present to show how the prehistoric ocean ecology was already working in ways similar to the ocean of today. In elegant, evocative prose, she takes readers into the realms of animals that epitomize today’s increasingly challenging conditions. Ocean life everywhere is on the move as seas warm, and warm waters are an existential threat to emperor penguins, whose mating grounds in Antarctica are collapsing. Shark populations—critical to balanced ecosystems—have shrunk by 71 per cent since the 1970s, largely the result of massive and oft-unregulated industrial fishing. Orcas—the apex predators—have also drastically declined, victims of toxic chemicals and plastics with long half-lives that disrupt the immune system and the ability to breed.

Yet despite these threats, many hopeful signs remain. Increasing numbers of no-fish zones around the world are restoring once-diminishing populations. Amazing seagrass meadows and giant kelp forests rivaling those on land are being regenerated and expanded. They may be our best defense against the storm surges caused by global warming, while efforts to reengineer coral reefs for a warmer world are growing.

Offering innovative ideas for protecting coastlines and cleaning the toxic seas, Scales insists we need more ethical and sustainable fisheries and must prevent the other existential threat of deep-sea mining, which could significantly alter life on earth. Inspiring us all to maintain a sense of awe and wonder at the majesty beneath the waves, she urges us to fight for the better future that still exists for the Anthropocene ocean.

Praise for What the Wild Sea Can Be:

Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction

“[Helen Scales is] a marine biologist who doesn’t write like one. Here is a clear-eyed survey of what ails ocean life, shaped by Scales’s own experience and a bracing look at what’s being done.”—The Chicago Tribune

“[Scales] charts the pollution, overfishing, warming waters and disease afflicting everything from the emperor penguin to the gannet and orca. But she also shows what is possible when authorities step in to stop the carnage, as they did in the early 2000s on the Caribbean island of Little Cayman.”—Pilita Clark, Financial Times

“Evocatively written . . . A disturbing portrayal of oceanic ecosystems undergoing threats to their survival instigated in large part by humans, who like all life on Earth can trace their evolutionary paths back to the primordial seas . . . Scales takes readers into the darker, murkier depths of oceans, using an assortment of sea-dwelling species and their habitats as centrepieces for the book’s 10 chapters, constructing a vivid portrayal of entire ecosystems affected by human activities . . . Engaging.”—Winnipeg Free Press

“A moving, evocative, and instructive journey . . . Much of Scales’s striking book is a call to action . . . Beautifully written . . . A matchless and unforgettable exploration of the life-critical ocean, past and present, and what resilience its future might hold if the right actions can be taken quickly.”—Shelf Awareness 

“A passionate look at how saving the seas is an essential part of saving ourselves. Scales is a highly respected marine biologist, and her books, including The Brilliant Abyss and Spirals in Time, are authoritative and entertaining. In her latest, the author turns her attention to the many problems facing the planet’s oceans, from warming water temperatures to resource exploitation to pollution . . . The author’s writing is lucid and compelling, featuring a nice mix of personal experience and convincing scientific data.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Examines how humans are endangering marine life and what might be done to save it . . . [Scales is] clear-eyed about the threats facing the ocean and remarkably forthright about the sacrifices required to protect it . . . This will galvanize readers.”—Publishers Weekly

“[A] thorough overview of the current dismal state of the oceans and the diverse animals who depend on their vitality . . . [Scales is] a learned guide for this important topic, and [readers’] faith in her expertise will be well rewarded.”—Booklist

“Scales encourages readers to take part in ‘mental time travel’ and ‘keep seeing the glory and wonderment in the ocean.’ By offering hopeful scenarios and advice for making ‘conscious decisions about the future of the earth’s biodiversity,’ she provides the reader with a level of positivity not often heard amid the overwhelming climate news that can often make us feel helpless . . . Provides a glimmer of light in a darkening world.”—BookPage

“In this snapshot of the state of our oceans, there are plenty of scare stories. For example, the sea ice that connects to solid land is weakening earlier in the year, which can force emperor penguin chicks into the water before they develop the waterproof feathers they need to survive. But benign human innovation and the natural resilience of marine ecosystems may turn the tide. Scales is a wonderful guide to the tragedy and the triumph of taking our ocean in hand.”—New Scientist 

Praise for The Brilliant Abyss:

Named a Globe 100 Book by the Globe and Mail
Named a Best Science Book of the Year by Library Journal

“The Brilliant Abyss, Helen Scales’s sweeping survey of the seafloor, is brave enough to risk a darker and, in some ways, more satisfying tone . . . Scales’s great gift is for transmuting our awe at the wonders of the deep sea into a kind of quiet rage that they could soon be no more . . . She urges us to err on the side of preservation: no deep-sea mining, fishing, oil drilling or extraction of any kind. The deep, she argues, is too vulnerable, and too crucial to the working of the planet to blindly ransack.”—Robert Moor, New York Times Book Review (cover review)

“Written by a highly articulate expert in the field, [The Brilliant Abyss is] so comprehensive and insightful that it will be a long time before it’s surpassed . . . In the first half of her book, Scales does an excellent job of animating the almost unbelievable panoply of life in the deep. As an explorer herself, she has seen things first-hand that few others will ever witness. But it is the second part of her book, devoted to the human impacts on the abyss, which brought gasps to my throat . . . It is hard to imagine a more timely or important book than The Brilliant Abyss. Carefully conceived and luminously written, it is certain to be a bestseller, which gives me hope that its urgent message might help save the world.”—Tim Flannery, New Statesman

“Fascinating . . . The book’s purview is technically all of history, but the incredible paucity of interaction people have had with the deep sea means that most of the information here takes the form of news delivered as a dire, last-minute warning . . . The Brilliant Abyss is a manifesto for change as much as it is a description of an ecological crisis. Its overall effect is not to clarify the waters . . . but to insist that what’s already down there matters, even or especially when it is hidden from our view.”—Jo Livingstone, New Republic

“Helen Scales offers up an abundance of wondrous revelation and wise warnings in this mesmerizing consideration of the vibrant world of darkness under the sea. This is essential, unforgettable reading about our marvelous blue planet.”—Aimee Nezhukumatathil, bestselling author of World of Wonders

“Helen Scales is one of those rare scientists who can capture the excitement of science. The Brilliant Abyss has a thrill on every page as she explores the deep and little-known ocean. But this comes with a warning. Man’s destruction is now reaching the remotest corners of the planet and our survival depends on stopping it.”—Mark Kurlansky, bestselling author of Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of Their Common Fate and The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing

“Mind-blowing! From vampire squids to translucent octopuses, from marine snow to sea butterflies, from Yeti crabs who farm their microbial meals on their own hairy claws, to snails who build shells of iron in hydrothermal vents, Helen Scales blitzes us again and again with the deep sea’s staggering strangeness and arresting beauty. Studded with wonder on every page, The Brilliant Abyss is proof that, even as we consume and ruin our beautiful Earth in our greed, we hardly know our planet AT ALL! At this critical point in human history, Scales’s eloquent reporting underscores the urgency with which we must focus on saving the deep sea if our planet is to survive.” —Sy Montgomery, author of the national bestseller The Soul of an Octopus

“Vivid . . . [Outlines] some of the staggering biological creatures that have already been uncovered—with the promise that many more await discovery . . . Stylish, eloquent . . . Enthralling and richly expressed and highlights how closely our lives depend on the deep.” —Robin McKie, Guardian

“An exploration of the deep sea’s biodiversity and the threats it faces . . . The author lucidly explains not only the geological contours of the deep but also the animals that inhabit it . . . Scales bids us to think of the deep not merely as a place to exploit for resources, but as a wondrous abode that we are compelled to protect—a precious realm that we should all care about.” —Benjamin Shull, Christian Science Monitor