To help solve the unknowns in herring fisheries, and to optimize herring harvest, researchers presented their work at the symposium Herring 2000, in Anchorage, Alaska. The high levels of enthusiasm shared during the symposium are sustained in this prolific and thorough proceedings book, with 50 peer-reviewed research articles on herring biology and ecology worldwide, social and economic aspects of herring fisheries, and herring fisheries management. Winner of a 2002 Apex award.

The editors (a group of federal government and state of California researchers) present 19 peer-reviewed papers from the August 2003 symposium on the ecology of estuary and watershed fishes of San Francisco, most of which were written under the auspices of the Interagency Ecological Program, a government and academic collaborative program for long-term monitoring and research on the San Francisco Estuary. Broadly speaking, the papers cover the distribution, organization and interactions of native and alien species; basic life traits for key species; potential effects of contaminants; and issues of modeling, methodology, and management. Annotation : 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).