Darwin's Fishes by Daniel Pauly
Thursday 12th February 2009: To mark Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday Dr Daniel Pauly, Professor of Fisheries at the University of British Columbia and a world expert on fish conservation, opened Darwin’s Fishes, the major exhibition of the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Iinstitution’s (BRLSI) 2009 Darwin and Beyond programme.
After cutting a fish-shaped cake made specially for the evening by three local artists, Prof Pauly gave a lecture entitled From Darwin’s Fishes to Jenyns’ Fishes— Ichthyology and the Voyage of the Beagle, describing the marine aspects of Charles Darwin’s voyage around the world.
Among the audience were the Mayor of Bath and a relative of the Rev Leonard Jenyns, Darwin’s friend and collaborator who left his library and collections to the BRLSI.
The encyclopedia put painstakingly together contains entries in alphabetical order starting each time with a given term of interest enriched by lots of cross-references taking the reader into different directions to explore fish, ecology and evolution. It always starts with Darwin and adds with what sciences have learnt since, put innovatively together by the author.
It worth coming along on this fabulous learning journey.