Friday Squid Blogging: On the Ugliness of Squid Fishing

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2023/10/friday-squid-blogging-on-the-ugliness-of-squid-fishing.html

And seafood in general:

A squid ship is a bustling, bright, messy place. The scene on deck looks like a mechanic’s garage where an oil change has gone terribly wrong. Scores of fishing lines extend into the water, each bearing specialized hooks operated by automated reels. When they pull a squid on board, it squirts warm, viscous ink, which coats the walls and floors. Deep-sea squid have high levels of ammonia, which they use for buoyancy, and a smell hangs in the air. The hardest labor generally happens at night, from 5 P.M. until 7 A.M. Hundreds of bowling-ball-size light bulbs hang on racks on both sides of the vessel, enticing the squid up from the depths. The blinding glow of the bulbs, visible more than a hundred miles away, makes the surrounding blackness feel otherworldly.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.

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