SQUID

Scientific Name: 

Loligo opalescens (California squid)

Loligo pealii (longfin squid)

Todarodes pacificus (Japanese flying squid)

Illex argentinus (Argentine shortfin squid)

Illex illecebrosus (shortfin squid)

Architeuthis martensi (North Pacific giant squid)

Architeuthis sanctipauli (Southern giant squid)

Species Description

Fishing Ground Map

There are two large families of squid: Ommastrephidae (Suborder:Oegopsina) and Loliginidae (Suborder: Myopsina). Ommastrephids, which include the larger species of squid, account for about 75% of the world catch. Although almost a hundred species of squid are fished commercially, two species, the Japanese flying squid and the Argentine shortfin squid, account for over half the world harvest. The main body mass of a Squid is enclosed in the mantle, which has a swimming fin along each side. The skin is covered in chromatophores, which enable the squid to change color to suit its surroundings.

The underside is also almost always lighter than the topside, to provide camouflage from both prey and predator. Under the body are openings to the mantle cavity, which contains the gills (ctenidia) and openings to the excretory and reproductive systems. At the front of the mantle cavity lies the siphon, which the squid uses for locomotion via precise jet propulsion. Squid range greatly in size, from less than an ounce to thousands of pounds. Giant squids are the largest invertebrates on the planet.

Distribution 

Squids are abundantly distributed in certain areas of the three oceans.

Fishing Methods 

Seine, trawl, jig