The Dragon Behind The Glass by Emily Voigt

 

The most expensive fish in the world is the Asian Arowana, also known as the dragon fish.  Especially prized are the red ones, although there are also silver and green varieties.  For years, this fish was just a food fish but once the vanity breeders got into the business, most of the arowanas in the wild were captured, and the fish was put on the endangered list.

The stir around acquiring a specimen is amazing.  Traders have been robbed and even murdered.  A single fish can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars.  There are trade conventions and secret farms where the fish is raised in captivity.

Emily Voigt won a Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship and was fascinated by the story of the arowana enough that she chose to spend her time trying to locate one in the wild.  She met several of the top traders.  She went on expeditions to the Amazon and Borneo as well as other Asian countries.  While she was writing this book, a new variety which appears to have text written on it was discovered.

There is a controversy in the environmental field about the endangered list.  Some feel that as an animal or fish or bird becomes scarce, it needs to go on the list for protection.  Others, and this includes most of the traders, feel that putting a breed on the endangered list only makes it more valuable for the market as collectors try to get something that is so rare that it is endangered.  Voigt is on the side that supports the list but she does understand the arguments of the other side.  Regardless, readers will be fascinated to read on a topic probably unfamiliar to them and to see how it all plays out.  This book is recommended for nonfiction and science readers.