In 2007, Eric Jay Dolin wrote Leviathan, The History of Whaling In America, a wonderful book that follows the American whale fisheries from shore whaling, to the fleets of whale ships that sailed in every ocean, to the industry’s decline in the nineteenth century. Highly recommended.
Dolan’s new book, Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America, which will be released in July, also sounds fascinating. While not exclusively nautical, it does cover Hudson’s voyage to America as well as the sea otter trade in the Pacific Northwest, and its role in the China trade. A short video about the book: