Comprehensive; quick referencing; conclusive ID difficult, 16 Jul 1999

I used this book a lot while doing base-line surveys of reefs in Fiji and, while useful, I identifed one major drawback of the book when used for ID purposes. The fact that drawings only, and not photos, are given can mean the fish seen are not easily identified from the likenesses in the book. Usually, insufficient information is given in the blurb for each species for ID using the picture and despcription to be conclusive. On several occasions fish observed could not be pinpointed in the book, or, worse, more than one species came up as possibilities. This was particularly true of certain families, such as Wrasse, Squirrels, Soldiers and Groupers. In such circumstances I had to refer to a book with photos, which was less than ideal as it was less comprehensive for our region of study.

Overall, a good companion for anyone needing or wanting to identify coral reef fish species while diving, but needs to be used in conjuction with a reference book showing good quality photos.

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