To recap: in 2011, the California market squid fishery caught tons of squid (118,000 tonnes to be exact) and was all set to close. However, some fishers noted the continued abundance of squid in the ocean and petitioned to keep catching.
Then Oceana spoke up on behalf of the squid, with an argument neatly summarized by Geoff Shester, Oceana's California program director, as Protect Calamari, Save the Whales:
According to some squid fishermen, the remaining squid will “go to waste” if they are not caught. This notion is simply wrong and contradicts basic science. The ocean wastes nothing. Not only do our ocean’s charismatic creatures like sea lions, Risso’s dolphins and sperm whales feed on squid, but so do commercially and recreationally important fish including albacore tuna, calico bass, halibut and white sea bass. Dozens of depleted, threatened and endangered species also rely on squid for food, including steelhead trout, Chinook and coho salmon, marbled murrelets, rhinoceros auklets, many species of rockfish, blue whales, humpback whales and more. Boom years of squid are among the few times when many of these struggling species can get a foothold on recovery.
At least one quibbler in the comments on Geoff's article complained that blue whales don't eat squid. Au contraire, my friend, they probably do--just not on purpose. Blue whales are plankton feeders . . . and squid babies join the plankton by the thousands as soon as they hatch!
Quibblers aside, the government was swayed, and the squid fishery will stay closed until April 2012. Can I get a "huzzah" (and not just because I went to grad school with Geoff)?
