At the end of 2011, the second season in a row of a suddenly and mysteriously booming market squid fishery, Michael Vincent McGinnis of the Santa Barbara Independent offers a thoughtful commentary. He makes a particular point of the holistic value of market squid:

The presence and abundance of the squid in California marine areas are of paramount importance to the millions of fishes, birds, and mammals that compete for this resource with human beings. The market squid is a principal forage item for a minimum of 19 species of fishes, 13 species of birds, and six species of mammals. . . . Birds, seals, whales, and a range of other organisms depend for their survival on the return of the squid.

Do go read the whole thing!

More in-depth posts to come soon, I promise--I've just got to make some headway on a few other projects on my plate first.