Author: Dr. John F. Storr, Ph.D, Marine Biologist and Limnologist
Editor: Gordon C.J. Storr
Description of book and biography of author:
The Reef At Abaco is a glass-bottom-boat look at
the underwater world on the reef and surrounding waters around the northern
tip of Elbow Cay, Abaco Island, Bahamas but is applicable to most underwater
reefs in the Caribbean. A storyteller at heart, Dr. Storr delights us
with
the tales of his journeys, and shares with us the beauty and humor of life
under the sea. Enjoy the anecdotes and descriptive stories of the creatures
and sea life that could only be derived from a love and passion for the
underwater. Gain an understanding of and an appreciation for the intricacies
of the cycle of sea life, and be guided as to how to interact with life
underwater. Dr. Storr spent over 5,000 hours and over 50 years researching
and photographing the underwater world. He was a Professor of Marine Biology
& Limnology at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and has taught
at the University of Taipei, Taiwan, University of Miami, Cornell University,
and Nassau College. From his photography and underwater explorations, he
developed his teaching material including a series of underwater films for
National Educational Television. He has extensively lectured at numerous
schools, universities, museums, and Hope Town using both films as well as
rapid fire cartoons to the delight of all. His style of story telling is
unique.
Format: White plastic coil; convenient to read on the beach, boat, house with just one hand.
Number of pages: 160
Example of writing, from Chapter 7: "Between A Rock And A Hard Place" "...There are holes through the harder bedrock, and this makes it a place where fish can dive through a hole to the cave beneath, and each cave may connect to another. This is a favorite spot for fishing, and my friend DeWitt went through the whole routine of “baiting up” while I watched from underwater. First he took a conch, and with the back of his much used machete, broke off the end of the spiral of the shell and “screwed” the conch out of the shell. Next, he used his machete to break off bits of the edge of the shell which fluttered down through the water, flashing as they went -- and from a distance this must have looked like a school of small fish, some wounded and wobbling in the water. Then he tore off the soft parts of the conch and squeezed these in his hand with his hand underwater. By now the fish were out of their holes, a hundred peeping out of the rock, and many moving back and forth, aroused by the flashing of the pieces of conch and the smell of the squeezed conch. Taking his fish club (just an old piece of two-by-two board with the edges smoothed off and the other end whittled down to make a rounded handle), he knocked on the side of the boat, and from underwater I could hear the clunk, clunk, clunk of wood on wood. Sometimes, he would take the sculling oar, and keeping it in the sculling notch in the storm (notch is in the center of the stern of the boat and used to move the boat forward by "wagging" the oar back and forth), bang it up and down, the blade of the oar sending out strong vibrations into the water -- a sure way to excite fish even further. Next he would cut off a piece of conch and, using his wooden club, gently mash the conch to make it give off more scent, then sort of wind it on the hook. Then with a quick whirl he tossed the line. The small piece of flat lead folded over the line about a foot above the hook carried the hook about thirty feet from the boat. The line was held over the end of the first finger, the finger acting like a fishing rod, but much more sensitive. Underwater, a small Nassau grouper might come out of its hole swimming on its side, bend, and grab the bait. Or a small Turbot would dash up and grab the bait. All too often the sharp teeth of the Turbot would be able to cut off the hook, or its mouth would be so small that it would not take the hook into its mouth. DeWitt seemed to be able to tell exactly when a fish had hold of the hook and, with a quick jerk of his finger, he would set the hook and pull in the fish. I do know that whenever I fished with him, he could pull in ten fish to my one. After ten or fifteen minutes of fishing, the fish will loose interest, and the baiting routine would be repeated all over again. Then DeWitt would move onto another part of the bar, or another bar, and start all over again... " (continued)
Additional excerpts of book taken from Chapter 5: "Sand To Grass"
Table of Contents:
Publication date: First edition, November 17, 2001
Cost of the book: $16.95, free shipping. If you reside in Virginia, the price is $16.14 + $0.81 tax = $16.95
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ordering 1 book -- we accept personal checks or
Book Store, Wholesale, Multiple
Copies -- just CLICK HERE
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only) to: (see ordering information below)
Gordon Storr
Phone at: 1-800-267-8276, 9am-11pm, 7 days a week, Eastern
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