NONFICTION | AVAILABLE NOW
SEA CHANGE:
Unlikely Allies and a Success Story of Oceanic Proportions
by JAMES WORKMAN and AMANDA LELAND
“A narrative shot through with optimism.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sea Change is the captivating, deeply-human tale of how fishermen—along with some unlikely allies—helped carry out the biggest conservation success story you've never heard of.
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Exploring a win for the world's most vital ecosystem, Sea Change tells the story of unlikely partnerships and surprising solutions that are quietly revolutionizing the fishing industry. Like other ocean areas, the Gulf Coast fisheries were being fished out to the detriment of wildlife and the people whose livelihoods and communities hinge on sea catch. Fisherman Keith “Buddy” Guindon had followed every suggested policy and practice to no avail, until he—along with scientists, government agencies, and environmental groups—helped lead real change that is preventing overfishing and securing resource longevity. Sea Change demonstrates that success is possible, that the time is now, and the methods are here to conserve our natural world and the people who depend on it.
Hardcover with dust jacket ISBN: 9798890920409 | $32 | 300 pp | Trim: 6 x 9” | Paperback ISBN: 9798890920287 | $21.95 | 336 pp | Trim: 5.25 x 8” | September 2025
“Yes—finally, some good news! Fishermen and environmentalists, often aggressively at cross purposes, are finding common ground to improve the ocean's health and the livelihood of those working at sea. An uplifting read that will leave you hopeful about people, our planet, and the power of working together.”
—CAROLEE HAZARD, Kepler’s Bookstore
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
JAMES WORKMAN is a storyteller, entrepreneur, and author of resilience strategies, including the award-winning book Heart of Dryness. Drawing on fieldwork with Indigenous Kalahari people, he founded AquaShares, a firm pioneering water credit trading. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, Orion, Trout, and Washington Monthly. Workman studied at Yale, Oxford, and Stanford, and taught at Wesleyan and Whitman. But his real education came from restoring wildfires, reintroducing wolves, blowing up dams, smuggling to dissidents, getting married and raising two daughters.
AMANDA LELAND fell in love with the sea at five years old, when her grandfather taught her to fish. As executive director of Environmental Defense Fund, Leland brings stakeholders together to support healthy communities and economies while reducing climate impacts. She previously led EDF’s Oceans program, a global team in fourteen countries focused on reversing overfishing while supporting those whose livelihoods rely on fish, triggering the dramatic economic and ecological recovery of US fisheries and beyond. An avid kayaker and scuba diver, Leland holds a master's degree in marine biology and lives with her family in Washington, DC.
PRAISE FOR SEA CHANGE
“A narrative shot through with optimism.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"James Workman and Amanda Leland present an upbeat study of a rare environmental success in Sea Change. Lively, cheerful, clear, and vibrant."
—SHELF AWARENESS
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“Leland and Workman make a convincing case that empowering fishermen to work together, even as they compete, can create miracles.”
—BILL MCKIBBEN, The End of Nature
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“Sea Change reveals how those most tied to the sea can, must, and are becoming its greatest protectors. This book will change how you see the ocean—and those who live by it.”
—CARL SAFINA, Alfie & Me
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“Sea Change tells us the greatest environmental success story that no one’s ever heard of.”
—ERIC POOLEY, The Climate War
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“Sea Change is the game-changer we didn’t know we needed—an eye-opening, exhilarating story of how bold, pragmatic solutions can revive our oceans and redefine the future of seafood.”
—RICK MOONEN, James Beard Award winner
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“Sea Change is both an antidote to environmental gloom and a fair, deeply informed, and fun read.”
—TINA ROSENBERG, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner
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“Sea Change shows us what’s possible when seemingly irreconcilable opponents find common ground and work together on a solution that benefits everyone.”
—DR. ENRIC SALA, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and founder of Pristine Seas
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“Sea Change reveals one of the great environmental turnarounds of our time. It’s essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of our oceans.”
—BRUCE BABBITT, U.S. Secretary of the Interior 1993-2001
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“An engaging American environmental success story that details what happens when we get things right! Sea Change is the win-win story we need right now.”
—KATHRYN MURDOCH, executive producer of PBS’ A Brief History of the Future
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“Sea Change is a masterclass in how food system resilience is achieved at sea.”
—ERIC KESSLER, James Beard Foundation Trustee Emeritus and Food System Investor
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“The fight against climate change isn’t about one silver bullet—it’s about a bundle of solutions, woven together by those willing to get their hands wet.”
—BREN SMITH, Co-Executive Director of GreenWave and Owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm
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“Sea Change chronicles a revolution in ocean conservation where rights-based fisheries management transformed conflict into collaboration and depletion into recovery.”
—BRIAN YABLONSKI, CEO of the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC)
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“The authors do a spectacular job of capturing the promise, peril, personalities, and pioneering efforts to make fisheries sustainable and profitable in ways that work for fishermen and fish.”
—JANE LUBCHENCO, former Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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“In this fascinating read, commercial fishermen and environmental scientists overcome mutual distrust to bring about a reversal in fortune of our most important source of protein.”
—STAN DRUCKENMILLER, investor, Duquesne Capital
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