Scubaism

For professional diver Kuo Tao-jen, helping conserve the Pacific reef squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana has been his second life. Throughout the past ten years, Kuo has built bamboo rolls to provide a place for the squids to lay their eggs off the northeastern coast of Taiwan. His efforts have reaped fruits, as an estimated one million Sepioteuthis squids have bred successfully since then.

Kuo said that no place in the world engages in conservation activities like his which help extend the life of the Pacific reef squid. “Others use artificial reefs to gather the squids, but my bamboo rolls help the squids breed and lay their eggs,” said Kuo.

Sepioteuthis squids possess economic value, as they are commonly caught and sold as delicacies. Kuo said he hopes his efforts to conserve the squid can help strike a balance between their survival and their economic value to humans. “We eat the Sepioteuthis squid, and I believe there is a moral in our environment to be upheld by helping them extend their life,” said Kuo.

The professional diver said the squid has seen a rise in its population, particularly this year with the lack of typhoons hitting Taiwan.

Kuo began building bamboo breeding grounds for the squids amid the deterioration of the squid’s natural breeding places, such as coral and algae. The professional diver ventures beneath the ocean off the northeastern coast once every two days to observe the squids, which he has been helping to breed for the past ten years.

Kuo, the owner of a diving shop in Taipei, cuts down bamboo every weekend and ties it into a roll before placing the roll in the ocean. The bamboo does not pollute the ocean, as it will dissolve in the water over time, said Kuo.