Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara is a marine ecologist who spent his life trying to shoehorn scientific evidence into policy and politics. So far, he must admit that he has largely failed, despite episodical successes here and there. He is fascinated by devil rays and horrified by seafood after a childhood encounter with a trout gone bad. When he is not on the Greek island of Patmos he spends his time in Milan, thinking of ways to get back to Patmos.