UntitledThe English language gets down to it. Where in Latin it's Merlangius merlangus, and in Welsh gwyniad mor chwitlyn gwyn, in English it's a plain old whiting. Similarly, the lyrical gwrachen y graig bol melyn is a rock cook.
English, Welsh and Latin names are given for more than 250 fish species in this beautifully produced new book, and a load of useful information besides. It is produced with a deep understanding of the difficulties divers may face in identifying fish, hardly surprising as it comes from two very experienced divers and recorders of the undersea world, marine biologist Dr Frances Dipper, who wrote the long-established bible British Sea Fishes, and always reliable British marine-life photographer Paul Kay.
I'm still amazed by the variety of colourful species in our home waters, though it should be remembered that many of the creatures in these pages (like porbeagle sharks, seahorses or scale-eyed wrasse) are rarely seen by divers.
As the authors acknowledge, fish know no boundaries, so Welsh fish are by extension British fish. The red blenny shown in the book was only recently distinguished from a tompot blenny, for example, and no red blenny has actually been identified in Welsh waters - it's just that the authors know it must be there!
If you dive in Wales a lot, go for this book, otherwise it might be logical to go for a broader guide such as British Sea Fishes or Paul Naylor's Great British Marine Animals. But this is one reference book that's a pleasure to browse.
Steve Weinman
Marine Wildlife
ISBN: 9780956204806
Softback, 256pp, £19.95
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