Jig

Shortfin squid is distributed in the Southwest Atlantic, from Brazil to southern Argentina, the Falkland Islands, and east to the high seas. The shortfin squid fishery is one of the largest squid fisheries in the world and one of the four most relevant to Argentina.

Shortfin squid has a short lifespan, of about one year. The adults tend to be associated with the sea bottom and are commonly found between 100 and 600 meters deep. Several seasonal spawning populations exist, resulting in reproduction that occurs throughout the entire year.

Because shortfin squid is an annual species, its abundance is difficult to determine and varies greatly from year to year.

In Argentine waters, the fishery is focused on a single population that is divided into four sub-units for evaluation purposes: South Patagonian, Bonaerensis/North Patagonian, Summer Spawning, and Spring Spawning. Only the two first units are targeted for fishing, and they are assessed as separate units.

The fishing fleet, which operates throughout the EEZ, is the only western fleet that uses jigs for catching shortfin squid. Jigger vessels normally fish at night, concentrating the shoals with light from strong lamps located on the decks of the vessels, often complemented by underwater lamps.

The fishing season for vessels authorized to fish for squid (established by Resolution 973/97 of the Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, y Pesca) runs between February 1 and August 31, when the species is migrating over the continental shelf. A designated closure is applied between September and January to protect juveniles. Between February 1 and June 30, fishing is allowed south of 44° S and is carried out on two subpopulations: Summer Spawning (reproductive concentrations) at the beginning of the season and South Patagonian (pre-reproductive concentrations) during the whole period. The fishing season north of 44° S begins on May 1 and closes on August 31. The subpopulation of Bonaerensis/North Patagonian (pre-reproductive concentrations) is captured during this period, as is the Spring Spawning subpopulation, though to a lesser extent and at the end of the season.

As other cephalopod fisheries, the Argentine squid fishery is largely affected by a number of factors. Recruitment and abundance may be highly variable on annual time scales, which makes very difficult to set rebuilding timeframes. It is unclear if the decrease in abundance of the SPS is due to overfishing, unfavorable environmental conditions or other external circumstances. However, no information has been found about the necessity of rebuilding the SPS stock, no rebuilding timeframe has been specified for the stock and there is no evidence that the current rebuilding strategies are rebuilding it. Also, there are not specific harvest control rules or tools for the Argentine shortfin squid fishery that adjust exploitation levels or rates in response to stock status indicators. These ultimately need to be developed in concert with the INIDEP and the management system.

Target Species (1) Red Octopus (Octopus maya), in Spanish Pulpo maya o rojo and (2) Common Octopus (O. vulgaris), in Spanish Pulpo patón o común. Geographical Area - Province of Yucatan

Method of Capture : Red Octopus: Fishing drifting rod with lines containing bait, no hook, this method is known locally as gareteo, Common Octopus: Also employs a fishing rod with lines and bait, in this fishery a hook is used at the line and in Yucatan peninsula the pole and line fishing gear is also used.

Stock(s) - The Red Octopus is an endemic species from Mexico and is a member of the family Octopodidae. Its known distribution is from the waters adjacent to Isla del Carmen in Campeche to Isla Mujeres in Quintana Roo. One single stock is exploited based on genetic studies. The Common Octopus has a wide distribution in tropical and subtropical regions in the world. In particular, in Mexico, it is distributed throughout the Gulf of Mexico, it is found from the coastline up to 400 m deep, but it is more abundant below 100 m and its abundance decreases as depth increases. It is exploited in the Yucatan Peninsula and Veracruz. No genetic studies are available that could be used to establish a stock structure.

Fleet(s) Red Octopus: Small-scale and medium-scale fleets with octopus permits fishing and landing in the State of Yucatan, Mexico. Common Octopus: medium-scale fleets with octopus permits fishing and landing in the State of Yucatan, Mexico.
 

The jumbo squid represents the second largest fishery in Peru and the most important for artisanal fishers. More than 11,000 fishers and over 3,000 fishing boats participate in the fishery, which lands around 500,000 tons of squid each year. It is a very selective fishery as all the squid are captured one by one using jigs. A critical issue that the fishery needs to improve on is national regulations related to the formalization of fishing, and given its highly migratory characteristics, an international approach must also be sought. It is expected that with the collaboration of all FIP participants, the fishery can progress towards a more sustainable state.

The jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) is one of the largest (up to 2.5 meters in length and 50 kg in maximum weight) and most abundant cephalopod species in the world. Three intraspecific groups of the giant or jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) have been identified in the Southeast Pacific based on maturity size (Nigmatullin et al. 2001). However, as no genetic differences have been found among the three proposed population subunits, they are still considered to constitute a single stock (Xu et al. 2017). Their abundance and distribution patterns are very sensitive to changes in environmental conditions and the abundance of their prey. In Peru, the resource is exploited almost exclusively by the artisanal fleet, which must have a fishing permit to operate in Peruvian waters. The fleet operates with jigs, a special type of vertical lines used mainly in squid fishing. Special hooks for squid fishing (ripped hooks) are mounted one after another at a certain distance with a monofilament line. The line, weighted by sinkers, can be placed up to 200 m deep and is pulled with abrupt movements (http://www.fao.org/fishery/geartype/231/en). Evaluation, monitoring, and management measures are not well defined and do not provide precise data to address sustainability issues.

The first 3-year audit for the Peruvian squid FIP was completed in June 2022. As a result of that audit, 10 scores of the MSC performance indicators were increased, and the FIP work plan was revised to reflect the updated actions and tasks that must be undertaken for the fishery to meet the MSC standard. With these revised actions, the projected completion date for the FIP was subsequently updated to December 2024.

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