Giant squid, squid or Dosidicus gigas, measures up to 3 meters in length and can reach 50 kilos in weight. It is one of the main species of the southeastern Pacific Ocean and at the same time it is one of the species with the greatest commercial pressure in the world. Thousands of tons are extracted every month, a large part, from the international waters located off the seas of Ecuador, Peru and Chile. The main player behind that voracious appetite is China: it has a declared fleet of 671 ships.
A strong reaction from the Argentine squid industry following news published in Buenos Aires media indicated some Patagonian port were considering, and could be prepared to service the Chinese jigger fleet operating in mile 201 of the Argentine EEZ.
Argentina has released primary figures of fisheries landings in the first eight months of the year, (Jan/August 31) which show a significant overall drop compared to a year ago, 564,685.6 tons and 796,813.1, that is 29,13% less. However squid has done very well, hake hubbis landings also increased while shrimp and croaker the most common species experienced a considerable fall.
At the final Executive Council meeting of the Legislative Assembly, elected members considered and approved recommendations concerning Illex fishing and transhipment licenses for 2022.
China officially launches its voluntary fishing moratorium on the high seas from July this year to preserve squid resources in open waters, according to a resolution from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on June 28 and reported by the Xinhua news agency.
A resupply mission has reached the International Space Station (ISS) with fresh supplies for the astronauts, including new solar arrays and...for the first time ever two batches of tiny squids for a scientific experiment.
As the catching season seemed over for Puerto Deseado's fleet, the new finding brought relief to the squid sector and work now may continue for a while.
Authorities in China's northeastern Jilin province have found the novel coronavirus on the packaging of imported squid, health authorities in the city of Fuyu said on Sunday, urging anyone who may have bought it to get themselves tested.
The first report of squid catches from the Argentine season, south of parallel 44, indicate that daily averages were below those of similar seasons in 2018 and 2019. The INIDEP report, ”Argentine Squid, Season 2020, Report to 27 January (four weeks)” shows that the 58-jigger fleet caught some 10.649 tons, with average catches during weeks 2 and 4, of 17 and 27 tons per day, below the 32 to 40 tons per day in 2018 and 2019.
This Friday begins the Argentine squid season to the south of parallel 44, and west of meridian 62. Last year's season was encouraging with daily catches averaging 25/30 tons per jigger, however towards the end of April tonnage dropped dramatically, and the season was cut short.