The High Seas

The High Seas by Olive Heffernan is an Irish Times bestseller that offers a comprehensive investigation of the staggering damage we have inflicted upon the world's oceans and their life forms. As noted by the Observer, it is 'a vital, fascinating, deeply researched exploration of Earth's last wilderness... Shocking and starkly illuminating - a must-read,' according to Gaia Vince.

The ocean covers seventy per cent of the surface of our planet, and two-thirds of this lies beyond national borders. Owned by all nations yet no nation simultaneously, these waters are home to some of the richest and most biodiverse environments on the planet. However, they are also sites of unimaginable exploitation.

In these areas, industry and economic progress prevail, while lax enforcement and apathy remain the status quo. Out of sight and often out of mind, a battle rages to control, profit from, protect, or obliterate the world's largest, wildest commons.

Heffernan embarks on a journey to uncover the truth behind deeply exploitative fishing practices, investigate the potentially devastating impact of deep-sea mining, and hold accountable the Silicon Valley interventionists whose climate change solutions are often wildly optimistic, radically irresponsible, or both.

The result is a forceful and deeply researched manifesto advocating for the protection and preservation of this final frontier - the last vestiges of wilderness on Earth.