Preaching in Glass Houses...

[Katamuki]

Its been interesting following the Whale thread here on SB and seeing the polarization of the sides against the Japanese whalers. This article caught my eye today however and made me think a little more about this same subject. For all the ranting and concern by people over the whales here is a similar tragedy happening just off the coast of California.

What exactly does a fishing boat with "anglers" do with 225 or 300 squid exactly? I would imagine that the number of meat consumed is many times overshadowed by the amount that will be discarded. It seems such a tragedy to be so greedy and from my home state none-the-less!

PHOTOS: Giant Squid Caught Off Newport Beach

The story...

Giant Squid Caught Off OC Coast

Reporter:
Suzanne Marques

Posted by: Scott Coppersmith / myFOXla.com

Humboldt squid streamed into Orange County waters in large numbers this weekend... and anglers have been wrestling them into boats off Newport Beach.

The giant squid... some of them clocking in at up to 60 pounds... started showing up on Friday.

Anglers aboard the Western Pride out of Balboa Peninsula caught 225 of them. The largest weighed 60 pounds.

Another 300 were caught Saturday night.

Captains at Davey's Locker and Newport Landing were sending out their public sportsfishing boats thanks to the mysterious appearance of the squid, but said no catches were guaranteed.

 

[vladimir]

Do we know that any of the catch gets wasted? If your coolers are overflowing when your sport-fishing boat gets back to Montauk it's pretty easy to sell your catch right there on the dock. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a market for those squid.

 

[StevenN]

It's illegal to sell any kind of fish including squid without a commercial license in California.

I'm not sure what you're saying about sportfishing for squid in CA vs whaling in the southern ocean but whatever your point is it's a pretty big stretch.

 

[Ross1]

I think some people either dont realise or just choose to ignore the fact that many of the fish sold in our supermarkets or in popular restuarants contain endangered, over harvested fish.

 

[vladimir]

I think some people either dont realise or just choose to ignore the fact that many of the fish sold in our supermarkets or in popular restuarants contain endangered, over harvested fish.

Yes, and in this case we're talking about Humboldt squid, which are recommended as a "good alternative" for seafood eaters by the Monterey Bay Aquarium:

Seafood Search | Seafood Watch | Monterey Bay Aquarium

I try to follow their recommendations for sustainable seafood consumption. Seafood eaters shouldn't have an objection to the harvest of Humboldt squid, unless they are being wasted, rather than eaten.

 

[Ross1]

Yes, and in this case we're talking about Humboldt squid, which are recommended as a "good alternative" for seafood eaters by the Monterey Bay Aquarium:

Seafood Search | Seafood Watch | Monterey Bay Aquarium

I try to follow their recommendations for sustainable seafood consumption. Seafood eaters shouldn't have an objection to the harvest of Humboldt squid, unless they are being wasted, rather than eaten.

Very true Vladimir. I think the MCSS in the UK reccomends squid on it's list of sustainable seafood.

I think one of the worst things to buy is tuna (or other fish) caught by purse seine or long lines. The amount of sharks,cetaceans and other bi catch killed from these methods is horrifying. If I buy tuna it is pole and line caught, a well known supermarket in the uk sells it, and it costs no more than normal.

 

[drbill]

Hard for me to equate the take of Humboldt squid with the take of whales, especially under the guise of "lethal scientific study." However, there is a general point to be made that all cultures make decisions about what types of life they kill and consume (including plants).

The Humboldt squid is "invading" SoCal waters, perhaps as an extension of their range due to the decreasing depth of the oxygen poor zones. They have the potential to do serious damage to ecosystems and commercially important species such as hake off this coast.

I do hope these invertebrates are being eaten for food rather than just being tossed in the garbage after the "sport" is over.

 

[Ross1]

I heard on a documentary that squid numbers are so high because their natural predators like hammerhead sharks are being wiped out. That was off the Californian coast too.

 

[Katamuki]

My point was not to necessarily equate the life of a squid to that of a whale although to the squid it probably is just as important. It was more pointed to the fact that hundreds of squid per night per boat were being taken. I dont know what kind of fridge you all may have but I cant fit hundreds of pounds of anything in mine. I dont for a second believe that all the animals killed here were used for food or even kept for any purpose other than "sport" at all.

The Japanese are a fishing people. For thousands of years they have used the ocean to sustain their life and to supplement thier diet. Good agricultural land is not as available as it is in many other countries and the ocean was/is a means to survival. Whaling of course is not essential to survival as far as I know.

However, the practice of these "fisherman" of "harvesting" hundreds of squid is at least on a smaller level in comparison to the whalers is as arrogant and unthinking as what the Japanese are doing. It is as hard for me to believe a sport fishing boat with customers need to take 300 squid in one night as it is to believe the Japanese whalers need to kill whales.

Maybe I am wrong but thats how I feel.

 

[vladimir]

I doubt anybody is going to post in support of wasting catch. Do you have any evidence to make you think that is what is going on? I mean, besides speculation on the size of the fishermen's refrigerators? What is wrong with taking 300 squid in one night, if that is an easily sustainable catch? 300 squid divided among how many passengers? Anyway, there doesn't seem to be any threat to the Humboldt squid population:

http://www.livescience.com/animals/080613-bts-squid.html

Next to sperm whales, the primary predators for the Humboldt squid in Mexico are coastal villagers who row their wooden boats offshore at night, when the red devils are closer to the surface. Fishermen catch squid by the hundreds and sell them for food. It doesn’t appear that over-fishing is a problem. National Geographic recently reported that some 10 million squid might be living in a 25-square-mile area off Santa Rosalia.

As a matter of fact, there seems to be too many Humboldt shrimp:

http://www.tofinomudflats.com/pdf/Feature_Article.pdf

While many scientists suspect that El Niño events and general ocean warming associated with long term climate change are partially responsible for bringing the Humboldt squid farther north, they suspect that it’s not the full story. Long-term overfishing of the Humboldt squid’s predators, such as tuna and billfish, may also be contributing to the squid’s range expansion not only because there are less predators to eat the squid (hence increased populations of squid), but also because top predators like tuna and Humboldt squid compete for the same prey. Less competition from tuna means more food for squid, lowering mortality rates.

Who depleted the ocean of tuna?