In an article titled "Managing the Magnificent Giant Squid", recently published by The New York Times, the American journalist Benjamin Ryan, analyzes possible climatic solutions to the conservation of the marine species.
Ryan recounts the social and economic importance that this fishery has gained in Chile, noting that it is a "temporary guide for those fishermen".
He points out that its price shot up around 40% between 2016 and 2019 and that Asian markets have imported an annual average of 365 million dollars from Peru and 55 million from Chile since 2017.
The author of the report makes a comment on the biology of the giant squid, indicating that it is a fearsome marine predator so voracious that it is prone even to cannibalism.
On that point, The New York Times, founded in 1851, spoke with the president of the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the South Pacific Giant Squid (CALAMASUR), Alfonso Miranda Eyzaguirre, about the efforts of this institution that brings together the actors of the industry of Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico.
The article recalls that in March, the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization, one of approximately 20 such groups worldwide that coordinate sustainable fishing practices in international waters, published the first steps to establish a management agreement and conservation among national members for the sustainable fishing of giant squid on the high seas.
"While the agreement, which goes into effect in January 2021, does not yet set limits on squid catch, it does require the collection of data and samples to inform fishing records and vital scientific research on the valuable sea creature. ”, Indicates the article in the New York newspaper.
The report quotes Miranda Eyzaguirre, who indicates that "ideally, states should be able to align themselves in both science and management, and the same should apply in international waters."
Calamasur, based in Lima, Peru, is a new group in this industry that advocates sustainable fishing for giant squid.
The article notes that “Multiple studies, including one published in Current Biology in March, have found that the surprising impact of climate change on the oceans, through warming, acidification, decreased oxygen content, and changes in currents , is driving sea creature territories in massive change. ”
The willingness of scientists from Ecuador, Peru and Chile to share data analysis and collaborate on this investment front has imbued Dr. Kristin Kleisner, senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), with optimism that they can give the further steps necessary to better inform sustainable fishing practices in the region.
EDF is testing models that could allow more accurate projections as giant squid and other marine life will fluctuate from year to year.
Foto portada: Franco Banfi/Steve Bloom Images, via Alamy - The New York Times
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