Book Review: Freshwater Fishes of Britain by Jack Perks

We got sneak peek at Jack Perks’ new freshwater fish book last month. Here’s what we thought…

It’s a beautifully illustrated book, and bound to impress anyone who spies it on your coffee table. But more than that, it’s packed with very interesting info on our native freshwater fish species.

Jack say’s,

Freshwater fish can be found in all manner of habitats from the small ponds that create ideal homes for Crucians and Ten-spined Sticklebacks to large torrent-filled rivers full of Atlantic Salmon and Brown Trout. Fish are an integral part of our ecosystems, but people often regard them as little more than a food source for other creatures. They are much more than that, however, with many fascinating characteristics and unusual aspects of behaviour. The Chub, for example, is a river fish with a voracious appetite that will eat anything from beetles to small fish and even mice. It will also feed on fruit, waiting for a meal under trees and bushes in autumn. The word ‘chubby’ originates from the name Chub and is descriptive of the rather stout, rounded form of this fish.

Everyone in our office has enjoyed it.

Including our little office friends.

But to the Fairy Shrimps, it was more like a catalogue of horrors.

Poor shrimps.

However, we all agree that it’s a wonderful book, and would make a fantastic Christmas present for young and old, as Jack told us,

The book is designed as a easy-to-use guide to every one of the 56 species of freshwater fishes we presently have in the UK, including non-native species and marine species that will enter rivers. It is a very visual guide, illustrated with my underwater images, and is ideal for both children and adults who want to get a glimpse into the underwater world of freshwater fishes. It includes sections on equipment, from scuba gear to wellies and everything in between, plus details of how to capture underwater images, how to find and watch fish, and a selection of the oddities, such as albinos, that can sometimes be found.

Freshwater Fishes of Britain by Jack Perks is published by Reed New Holland at £16.99, hardback, and available from all good bookshops or online from Amazon, or call 01206-255777.