Overview
An undercover investigation into a multimillion-dollar wildlife smuggling empire beneath the waters of Puget Sound.
A unique blend of natural history and crime drama, Shell Games by Craig Welch is a riveting tale of rogues, scoundrels, and the hunt for nature’s bounty in the tradition of The Orchid Thief.
Welch chronicles an illicit maritime underworld in Puget Sound, where midnight dive crews strip deepwater beds to feed ravenous overseas markets.
State and federal wildlife detectives spend years pursuing covert boat chases and airport paper trails, tracking pirate harvests from local tideflats to international seafood banquets.
A stranger-than-fiction true story centered around a larger-than-life character who pursued a larger-than-life clam—the Geoduck—and then led wildlife police on a two-year-long chase, Shell Games is enthralling and remarkable from page one on.
- Undercover Investigation: Follows state detectives Ed Volz and Kevin Harrington as they stake out dark harbors, flip informants, and track pirate fishing rings across state lines.
- Marine Biology: Explores the extraordinary science of Panopea generosa, the burrowing giant clam that lives over 150 years and records centuries of climate patterns in its shell.
- Pacific Northwest: Reveals the shadowy maritime underbelly of Puget Sound, where illegal dive teams used muffled compressors and hidden hoses to poach millions of dollars in seafood.
- Popular Science: Unpacks the global web of modern black-market trade, showing how booming international demand turned an obscure mollusk into an illicit commodity as lucrative as narcotics.
The book, Shell Games: A True Story of Cops, Con Men, and the Smuggling of America’s Strangest Wildlife [Bulk, Wholesale, Quantity] ISBN#9780061537141 in Paperback by Craig Welch may be ordered in bulk quantities. Minimum starts at 25 copies. Availability based on publisher status and quantity being ordered.
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