The Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) “brings together the governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy from around the world” (www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36734103_1_1_1_1_1,00.html)
The OECD was established in 1961 and has a membership of 30 countries and close ties with a further 100. To facilitate its work the OECD collects social and economic data and monitors trends in various areas including trade, the environment, agriculture, and technology. The information thus collected is then published in works such as the Multilingual Dictionary of Fish and Fish Products.
First published in 1968 and with the fourth edition published in 1995, this latest edition is long overdue and was developed through contributions by OECD member countries and an expert panel and takes into account other international guides and standards to minimize inconsistency in nomenclature. The Dictionary is written in both English and French with the main entry headings also available in 20 other languages. In this latest edition Korean has been added to the languages available. No other details are given as to how this edition differs from the last.
The How to Use this Dictionary section is concise and simple with key points highlighted. Given the international audience for this dictionary this simple explanation will be useful for those for whom neither English nor French is their first language. An index is available at the back of the book in each of the 20 languages. Unfortunately here the titles for each language index are given only in English and French, but not the language itself, which may be confusing for those who struggle with either of these languages. The final index is of scientific species names.
Each item entry includes translations for the fish or product name, where such translations exist. Entries on specific fish species include their scientific names and geographic distribution as well as the means by which they are marketed e.g. fresh, dried, canned, salted, etc. The entries for fish products tend to be shorter and generally include a brief description of how the product is produced and its various uses.
This is a core resource for those working in the field and, given that the previous edition was published over ten years ago, this latest edition is likely to be relevant for several years to come and so is good value for money at £75 (hardback). Although not mentioned in the published copy I found that the Dictionary is also available direct from the OECD's web site in a searchable format online by subscription to the SourceOECD service (www.oecd.org/document/43/0,3343,en_2649_33901_42123947_1_1_1_37401,00.html)
While not the most interesting read this Dictionary lives up to its name and does so in a simple clear concise manner that is appropriate for a reference book likely to be used by a specialist international audience.
