Disclaimer

The books are fiction

Black Fin, White Fin: Unknown Sea, and Black Fin: Sirens Song are novels. The characters, the pods, the crews, the boats, and the events are invented. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or to real vessels or organisations, is coincidental.

The animals in them think, feel, remember, and speak to one another in ways that serve the story. Real whales are not known to do those things in the way the books portray. The series is fiction, these animals are not: the creatures are real, the story is not.

The marine science

The whale and conservation pages draw on published research and are written as carefully as the author can manage, but they're written for readers rather than as a scientific reference. They simplify, they don't cite sources line by line, and marine biology moves on. Population figures and conservation statuses in particular can be out of date.

If you need this material for research, coursework, journalism, or policy, treat it as a starting point and go to the primary sources: NOAA Fisheries, the IUCN Red List, the International Whaling Commission, and the published literature.

Not professional advice

Nothing on this site is scientific, veterinary, legal, financial, or professional advice of any kind. Don't make decisions with real consequences based on it, and don't approach, feed, or interact with wild marine mammals on the strength of anything read here, in many places doing so is illegal as well as dangerous.

Conservation organisations

Where this site points to conservation groups or research bodies, that's a pointer to work worth knowing about. It doesn't imply any partnership with, endorsement by, or affiliation with those organisations unless the page says so outright.

Buying links and reviews

Links to booksellers are provided for convenience. There are no affiliate links on this site and no commission is earned from them. If that ever changes, it'll be disclosed here and on the page carrying the link. Reader reviews and quotes are other people's opinions, not statements of fact by G. Jeffrey Ares.

Availability and dates

Release dates, prices, availability, and event details are as accurate as possible at the time of writing and can change without notice.