BERMUDA and her never-ending fascination with fishing is the focus of a new book by former resident, Graham Faiella.

Fishing in Bermuda looks at the evolution of fishing from 1609 - when the first permenent settlers depended on it as a means of subsistence - to its recent development as a recreational sport.

"This is the story of how fishing has evolved in Bermuda since those early years, going into the 21st century: how people fish in Bermuda, where they fish, what they catch and their responsibilities toward the local fishing environment," said Mr. Faiella.

"One of my goals in writing (it) was that I wanted to touch all the bases. The object of the book isn't to show people how to fish. I wanted it to be a main reference point.

"So I've included everything from fish recipes to charter fishing boat details. I have documents that pull all the strings together, which I've put into a comprehensive, comprehensible format for the lay reader."

Born in Somerset, Mr. Faiella was educated on the island with further schooling in the US, Europe and the UK. Since 1979, he has worked as a professional editor and writer, most recently writing on subjects related to the sea and Bermuda. Seeing the book through from start to finish, he admitted, was hard work; especially as its inspiration didn't come from his own life-long devotion to fishing.

"My brother Peter was out fishing one day and had some time on his hands," he said, speaking from his home in London. "He started thinking, and suddenly realised there wasn't a book describing how people fish, and where and what they fish in Bermuda. I'm not a (full-time) fisherman. A lot of people might ask me, 'What do you know about fishing?' I could ask a lot of fisherman, 'What do they know about writing about fishing?'

"Because I was a professional editor and writer, Peter thought I'd be good to do it. I liked fishing and knew a bit about fish, but I think all Peter was expecting was a book for the amateur fisherman; something which gave the location of good fishing spots. That was the embryo but as I began to tackle it, I got into environmental and ecological issues and all those sorts of things."

The resulting 180-odd pages encompasses information gleaned through research at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum & Zoo, the Fisheries Department, the Bermuda Library and discussions with many fishermen.

"I didn't expect it to look as good as it did," said the author.

Published by Macmillan Caribbean, Fishing in Bermuda will be available at the Bookmart and the Bermuda Bookstore.