A ‘Tipping Point’ for Squid

* Re “Fishermen, Scientists Squabble Over Squid,” April 8.

Commerce and biosphere are still in conflict. Nonnegotiable demands have reduced the likelihood of a rational discussion of allowable takes of squid. J’accuse! It’s his fault, not mine! It’s El Nino, not us!

Our offshore picture is grim and familiar. Is it surprising that squidders can sell every squid they capture? It shouldn’t be. The human demand for ocean fish is insatiable but the ability of fish stocks to sustain the demands of a free market is biologically limited.

If everyone would just step back and look at the big picture they could see the tragedy of the commons unfolding in our beautiful channel.

With no concept whatsoever of squid’s final “tipping point,” the point at which a species is unable to regain its former numbers, these profit-driven, fossil-fueled, technology-enabled fishermen have had no qualms about extracting 125,000 tons of squid in just one season.

Ignorance of the true impact of their business on the biosphere has not prevented them from attaining ever-increasing record profits. But then fishermen don’t fish for fish, they fish for money. Has the industry given any consideration to the density of squid necessary for the sustenance of other marine species? Not when it can export 80% of its catch to the gaping maw of mainland China.

At the first hint of limits or the establishment of no-take zones in the reorganization of our beleaguered Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, they scream foul--or worse. Fishermen as victims? Gimme a break.

We need limits. Why? Simply because we are not living in a static world. The human population is growing and our demand for ocean protein is not going to diminish. We must take long-range conservative action now, before it’s too late, and especially in light of the fact that we don’t have all the facts. On a shrinking planet we must err on the side of caution.

The knee-jerk hue and cry against limits is a self-centered argument that disregards the fact that our numbers have yet to level off. The human population is growing, like a tumor, and we need to set limits on everything for sustainable biodiversity--for our own good and for the good of our progeny.

DANIEL HAYES PEARSON

Port Hueneme