William ("Gilly") Gilly, is one of the scientists on board, as well as a Foundation board member and Stanford professor at Hopkins Marine Lab. He is also an expert on the Humboldt Squid. He first got interested in them because of their unusually long and accessible axon, which allows experimentation on how nerves work. Since then, he's gotten interested in their natural history, including the boom and bust nature of squid fisheries.
Through 2008 it was a huge fishery, the fourth largest in Mexico. Then with the arrival of El Nino in 2009-2010, and the higher temperatures it brought, the fishery collapsed. Squid that used to grow to well over 4kg sexually matured at a small size (<1kg). The fishermen in their small pangas and using a jig, simply couldn't collect enough to make a living.
This is not the first time this has happened, but when previous El Ninos relaxed and cooler water came, the squid always returned to their former jumbo size. Unfortunately, this time the squid stayed small. The waterfront in Santa Rosalia that used to support ice plants, packing houses, and a huge fleet of pangas disappeared with the squid.
Until this year.
On Tuesday (29 Apr), we intended to anchor in San Lucas Cove for the night after a long passage from La Paz. Ahead on the radar we could see dozens of small radar signals. It was very calm, so our first thought was that they might be pelicans resting on the surface (our X-Band radar is that sensitive), but as we got closer we realized it was a huge fleet of pangas heading out from Santa Rosalia looking for squid.
As mysteriously as it disappeared, the squid were back.
When we got to Santa Rosalia yesterday afternoon, Gilly, Unai, and I wandered over to the fishing docks to see what was going on. Walking with Gilly, it was clear that he is a local rock star. He is well known for unraveling the mystery of why squid disappeared 15 year ago and for not giving up hope that they would someday return. It's as if they figured he had engineered something for the good times they were now enjoying.
The place was a madhouse. Hundreds of people were launching pangas, filling them up with gas, charging batteries (used for lights to attract the squid) and getting ready for a night on the water.
We talked to some of the locals and it turns out that the squid are now large enough (2-4 kg), that a skilled jigger can catch 2,000 lbs or more, making it once again profitable. Prices are also high. Unfortunately for the locals, so are costs. Because the local squid infrastructure is long gone, the fishermen have to clean their own catch, then arrange to have it trucked to Ensenada for shipment to China.
Still, after a 15 year hiatus, the fishery is viable again.
Gilly negotiated with a fisherman to buy 20 squid early in the morning (0500) so he could dissect them and see if they were sexually mature. Despite their mid-size, most were not, meaning that if they were left alone, they would grow still bigger. The small phenotype that dominated for so long has mysteriously disappeared.
Is it sustainable? Who knows? The fleet here in Santa Rosalia is exclusively small pangas, so they don't have the impact of the large trawlers out of Peru or China. Previous busts have been driven by the coming and going of El Nino, not overfishing.
But, as this old boat can attest, every fishery has its limits.
Wonderful following the further adventures of the Flyer & crew !!
ReplyDelete