Sunshine Coast authors Betty C. Keller and Rosella M. Leslie have just been honoured with a B.C. Book Prize nomination for A Stain Upon the Sea.
This indispensable critique of fish farming practices used in British Columbia and abroad has been short-listed for the Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize, which comes with a $2,000 prize for the author and is awarded to the book that contributes most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia.
A Stain Upon the Sea features an all-star cast of contributors. Historians Keller and Leslie explain the development of the industry in B.C., from small family operations to large chain farms owned by a handful of multinational conglomerates.
Journalist Stephen Hume examines the industry through the eyes of the Nuxalk and Heiltsuk Nations and incorporates case studies from Ireland and Alaska. Biologist Alexandra Morton describes the biology of sea lice in the pink salmon runs in the Broughton Archipelago. Scientist Don Staniford analyzes the chemical stew that farmed fish are raised in and the health risk this poses to humans. And former federal employee Otto Langer gives an in-depth account of the bureaucratic nightmare that exempted the industry from environmental review.
Keller has a number of other books to her credit, including Better the Devil You Know, Pauline: A Biography of Pauline Johnson and the award-winning Skookum Tugs: B.C.'s Working Tugboats (with Peter A. Robson).
Leslie's articles and stories have appeared in several magazines, and she is the author of Sunshine Coast: A Place to Be. Keller and Leslie also co-authored Bright Seas, Pioneer Spirits: The Sunshine Coast and Sea-Silver: Inside British Columbia's Salmon Farming Industry.
The winners of the B.C. Book prizes will be announced at the Lieutenant Governor's B.C. Book Prizes Gala at the Renaissance Hotel in Vancouver on Saturday, April 30.
Hosted by broadcasting personality Vicki Gabereau, this year's event will mark the 21st anniversary of the B.C. Book Prizes.
