Appreciating squid in and out of the sea

I enjoyed the article on squid [“Lights, Nets, Action,” by Russ Parsons, Jan. 31]. Thought you might like to know that the arrival of the squid is also a big deal for local scuba divers. The ocean bottom in places like Veterans Park in Redondo Beach is covered with egg cases and dying squid, which attracts all sorts of animals looking for a free meal.

AL LAUBENSTEIN

Rancho Palos Verdes

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I enjoyed your article, but I object to a couple of things. First, you call squid an “almost infinite” resource but there are dozens of examples from recent history of species that seemed infinite at one time, yet the people making this claim clearly underestimated man’s ability to hunt/fish/kill.

No one would have imagined how quickly the bison of the Great Plains or the sardines of Monterey Bay could be pushed to the brink.

My other objection is the use of the word “renewable.” Just because something is capable of being renewed doesn’t make its consumption environmentally friendly as is implied by the inside page headline (“Squid -- Abundant and Renewable”). Polar bears and squid are both renewable.

Everything we eat is renewable. I think what you or the headline writer intended was “sustainable.” If so, I hope that is the case.

PETER LARAWAY

Santa Barbara

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GREAT job on the squid fishing piece. The mental picture you drew was such that I could almost smell the salt air. When your readers sit down to a delicious plate of seafood, I hope they now have a greater appreciation of the efforts of some very hard-working fishermen and women who started that seafood on its journey to their table top.

FOREST SMITH

Newport Beach