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  • Not on My Watch

  • How a Renegade Whale Biologist Took on Governments and Industry to Save Wild Salmon
  • Written by: Alexandra Morton
  • Narrated by: Katie Ryerson
  • Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (25 ratings)

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Not on My Watch cover art

Not on My Watch

Written by: Alexandra Morton
Narrated by: Katie Ryerson
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Publisher's Summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Alexandra Morton has been called "the Jane Goodall of Canada" because of her passionate thirty-year fight to save British Columbia's wild salmon. Her account of that fight is both inspiring in its own right and a roadmap of resistance.

Alexandra Morton came north from California in the early 1980s, following her first love--the northern resident orca. In remote Echo Bay, in the Broughton Archipelago, she found the perfect place to settle into all she had ever dreamed of: a lifetime of observing and learning what these big-brained mammals are saying to each other. She was lucky enough to get there just in time to witness a place of true natural abundance, and learned how to thrive in the wilderness as a scientist and a single mother.

Then, in 1989, industrial aquaculture moved into the region, chasing the whales away. Her fisherman neighbours asked her if she would write letters on their behalf to government explaining the damage the farms were doing to the fisheries, and one thing led to another. Soon Alex had shifted her scientific focus to documenting the infectious diseases and parasites that pour from the ocean farm pens of Atlantic salmon into the migration routes of wild Pacific salmon, and then to proving their disastrous impact on wild salmon and the entire ecosystem of the coast.

Alex stood against the farms, first representing her community, then alone, and at last as part of an uprising that built around her as ancient Indigenous governance resisted a province and a country that wouldn't obey their own court rulings. She has used her science, many acts of protest and the legal system in her unrelenting efforts to save wild salmon and ultimately the whales--a story that reveals her own doggedness and bravery but also shines a bright light on the ways other humans doggedly resist the truth. Here, she brilliantly calls those humans to account for the sake of us all.

©2021 Alexandra Morton (P)2021 Penguin Random House Canada

What the critics say

"A devastating literary exposé of one of the greatest scandals of recent Canadian history. What begins as a wholly human memoir of a reluctant activist takes on the urgency of a murder thriller—one in which the victims are wild salmon, coastal communities, science and democracy." (J.B. MacKinnon, author of The Once and Future World: Nature As It Was, As It Is, As It Could Be)

“[Not on My Watch] doesn’t read as an angry polemic. Rather, it’s an outline of a life spent standing up for something.” (Dana Gee, Vancouver Sun)

“How does a scientist and mother fight both foreign-owned fish farm cartels and lying governments? Alexandra Morton provides a thrilling recipe: a wallop of persistence, three decades of science, cups of stubbornness and the salt of undaunted courage. If the Pacific Northwest Coast's wild salmon can survive our industrial assault on their very existence, credit must go to the indomitable courage of Alex Morton and a brave renaissance in First Nations governance.” (Andrew Nikiforuk, author of Empire of Beetle and Slickwater)

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Excellent book.

Must read for anyone interested in preserving our environment for future generations. This book does not only recount a journey of courage but exposes the various forces that supported and worked with the guardians of our waterways and the life forms within.

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An absolute must read or listen to!

Amazing account of what has been happening for over 30 years! The insane buracry of all levels of government regardless of party.
Definitely should make a movie of this one!!

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Incredible Woman

I cannot believe that I haven't heard about A Morton until now! How can such important Canadian news go uncovered? Also, I will NEVER eat farmed salmon again, no matter how "sustainable". What has happened in fish-farming is just disgusting and the government has turned a blind eye so that profits could be made. More of Canada's shameful history revealed.

She writes very matter-of-factly, from the present POV, so I think maybe a lot of the passion, confusion, fear of what she has dedicated her life towards has been lost.

Nevertheless, every Canadian, and everyone who eats salmon should read this book. What a David and Goliath tale of persistence and righteousness. Brava to A Morton!

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Excellent

I am so grateful for all your hard work Alexandra Morton. Thankyou for sharing your story. An amazing read for critical times of wild salmon.

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Thank You Andrea Morton

I can honestly say before reading this i knew very little about salmon, salmon farms and the huge effect they have on the environment. After reading, it has changed the way I purchase Salmon and how I view the gov'ts connection with the Department of Fisheries. It's hard to believe that after the collapse of east coast cod stocks that we're nearly there with salmon on the west coast. It's even harder to believe the lengths industry will go to to silence scientific information.

Great story and a true testament that perseverance pays off.

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