Fishery Regulation Is Government Responsibility

Your report ``An Aleutian Island Booms and Busts Over Bottomfish,'' April 24, is exceptionally well done. I have seen these tragedies again and again during my career as a fisheries biologist. I expect to see them again elsewhere. It is true that mobile fish factories are inclined to overfish a fishery in a shorter time than factories fixed on shore, but both are often guilty. Establishing regulations designed to protect fisheries is a relatively simple process, though enforcing regulations is sometimes difficult.

Regardless of the problems involved, the United States government is obligated under the law to regulate these industries in a manner designed to protect all aspects of the environment.

Gilbert F. Weiss, Farmington, Mo.

Fiddling around with the violin The article ``Grammy Winner Fiddles a Fast One,'' April 23, states: ``The fiddle and the violin are the same instrument by different names.'' While this is true of the word ``fiddle'' used as an noun, as a verb or an adjective it is quite distinctive and different from ``violin.''

Fiddlers play differently. Their bow technique is rougher, less subtle, with less variable nuance. The method of producing the sound is different. The left hand positions and use are different, as are position shifts and fingerings. Fiddlers play for barn dancers, not in drawing rooms or concert halls (usually). This is not to say that fiddling well is easy, but it is quite different from the art of the violin. It is easier to move from classical violin to fiddling than vice versa. Speaking bluntly, the differences resemble the contrast between the ballet dancer and the football player.

Allan Shields, Mariposa, Calif.

McVegeburger and fries, please Regarding the editorial ``Mac Attack on Solid Waste,'' April 22: Kudos to McDonalds for their new emphasis on recycling. The next environmental evolution would be a vegeburger entree. An acre of trees is spared each year for every individual who switches to a meatless diet. Fifty times as much fossil fuel is needed to produce a meat-centered diet as a vegetarian one. A heavy meat diet is increasingly shown to be bad for the earth, bad for human health, and bad for the animals (of course!).

Kate Blane, Athens, Ga.