Not on My Watch

How a Renegade Whale Biologist Took on Governments and Industry to Save Wild Salmon

By: Alexandra Morton

Narrated by: Katie Ryerson

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

Critic reviews

"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)

Salmon crusader

He fascinating story of how big money and profit can triumphs over the health of salmon and the enjoyment of sports fishing

I had no idea!

I learned much from this book as it’s contents are compelling, alarming, and appalling. A must-read for all Canadians who are asked to wake up before it is too late. Morton sounds the clarion call. We have been warned. Now do we take action or not?

A must read**

My background is in environmental science, so I learned about some of the salmon issues while I was at school. It’s so crazy how in-depth all of this is. I would love to meet Alexandra Morton. I also wish that I had to drive and motivation that she does. I just feel so small compared to issues like these.
I think this is a must read for anybody. Especially for people that are not in an environmental or biology related field that may not necessarily hear about issues like these. I’m recommending my friends and family read this book.

A book that should be read by all Canadians

One of the most gripping, shocking and inspiring books I've read. I had some background on this topic and had no idea the depth of the issue and the politics in fish farming.

Good narrator , phenomenal & inspirational read

Alexandra Morton is an inspiring , strong , intelligent, courageous and awesome woman !!! This book was beyond enjoyable and educational along with influential. The courage, determination and dedication Morton has for salmon , orcas and the environment is heart warming, her fight is infectious and important. She really helps people understand the significance of salmon, how we can help them after the damage we’ve done to them and the environment.