Technical Report No. 447 1974 •
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FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 447 1974 • ... FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA Technical Reports FRB Technical Reports are research documents that are of sufficient importance to be preserved, but which ·for some reason are not appropriate for primary scientific publication. No restriction is placed on subject matter and the series should reflect the broad research interests of FRB. These Reports can be cited in publications, but care should be taken to indicate their manuscript status. Some of the material in these Reports will eventually appear in the primary scientific literature. Inquiries concerning any particular Report should be directed to the issuing FRB establishment which is indicated on the title page. FISHERIES AND MARINE SERVICE TECHNICAL REPORT NO. 44 7 THE SQUID OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AS A POTENTIAL FISHERY RESOURCE - A PRELIMINARY REPORT by S.A. Macfarlane and M. Yamamoto Fisheries and Marine Service Vancouver Laboratory Vancouver, B.C. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS 3 III. COMMERCIAL ASPECTS 8 A. Fishing Methods 8 B. International Squid Fisher,y 15 c. Status of Squid in British Co1uabia 19 IV. NUTRITIONAL ASPECTS 27 v. PROCESSING 28 VI. DISCUSSION 30 VII. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 32 VIII. REFERENCES 33 1. I. INTRODUCTION Available catch statistics from 1965 through 1971 indicate • that world-wide landings of squid totalled roughly 700,000 metric tons annually. An additional 100,000 metric tons of cuttlefish and about 160,000 metric tons of octopus were also landed annually. Apart from the well-established squid fishery in the Monterey area of California and the relatively minor inshore squid fishery off Newfoundland, the North American fishing industry has tended to ignore the possibility of further exploitation and utilization of this resource. It is obvious that poor market demands in past years have had a depressing efl'ect upon any possibility of expanding the North American squid fishery. Indeed, this poor demand for squid is reflected in prices paid to Cali- fornian fishermen in 1969-1970, namely, 2-4¢ per pound. Canned squid and frozen squid prices brought about 10¢ per pound. In the past year, however, a dramatic increase in u.s. squid prices has occurred. Prices paid by British Columbia fishing firms for frozen Californian squid in 1973 were about 23¢ per pound; the opening price in 1974 soared to about 43¢ per pound. Frozen imported squid currently retails for 79¢ per pound locally. If the steady increase in the price of imported squid should conti~ue, it immediately suggests the feasibility of harvesting and utilizing our own squid resources. Considerable studies on the biology of squid in the l':onterey a1·ea of California have been done, but little information is available regarding this particular fishery resource in other regions of the 2. Northeast Pacific. Certainly, no research (other than taxonomic studies) has been done on B.C. squid. Accordingly, if a potential squid fishery does exist in B.C. coastal waters, much more informa tion than that which exists now should be made available to inter ested parties. Accordingly, this report was prepared to summarize infor mation gathered thro~gh a survey of existing literature and published reports. In addition, much information was obtained through personal interviews with university staff members, Fisheries Service personnel, and with fishermen and fish plant managers having extensive 'experience in the B.C. fishing business. 3. II. BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS No attempt will be made here to include a detailed review of fundamental studies done on squids. Nonetheless, we believe that a brief description of squid biology in general, and Loligo opalescens in partic ular, would be appropriate in view of the potential economic importance of this species in local waters. Squid and cuttlefish belong to the Phylum Mollusca, Class Cephalopoda, Orders Teuthiodea (squid) and Sepioidea (cuttlefish). Both squid and cuttlefish possess ten arms. Eight of the ten arms are rather short ("sessile arms"). The two remaining arms ("tentacular anns") are often much longer than sessile arms in some species. MANTLE ~ PEN ~ TENTACULAR ARM Fig. 1. Loligo opalescens All squid species possess a chitinous skeleton or "pen" embedded in the mantle. If the pen is reinforced b;y a calcareous substance, it is called a "cuttlebone"; cuttlefish possess such calcareous pens. Although many species of squid are known to inhabit the coastal waters of B.C., most of these cannot be seriously considered at the present time to be of any economic importance due to scarcity, habitat or size. Nevertheless, a brief description of some taxonomic studies that have been done appears to be indicated. Mercer (1968) has listed 14 teuthoid species of squid and one sepioid species. More recently, Bernard (1970) has compiled the following list of 16 species of squid which are found in B.C. coastal waters: Rossia pacifica Loligo opalescens Histioteuthis dolfleini Cranchia scabra Taonius pavo Abraliopsis ~ Octopoteuthis sicula Todardes pacificus Gonatus anonychus (Berryteuthis) Gonatus fabricii Gonatus magister Gonatopsis borealis Onychoteuthis banksii Opychoteuthis borealijaponicus Moroteuthis robusta Vampyroteuthis infernalis Three species of squid (Meleagroteuthis hoylei, Chiroteuthis veranyi, Galiteuthis armata) not included above, but collected and identified by Pearcy (1965) off the Oregon coast, may be presumed to inhabit B.C. coastal waters as well. Dr W.G. Fields at the University of Victoria, B.C., is currently compiling a complete glossar,y of squid for the entire North eastern Pacific region. or those squid species mentioned, only the myopsid, Loligo op&lescens, the oegopsid gonatids, Gonatus sp. and Berrzt,euthis sp., can be seriously regarded as a potentially important fisher.y resource. Addi tionally, Voss (1973) suggests that Todardes pacificus (common Japanese squid) might be economically valuable. Loligo opalescens, the most promising squid species for commercial utilization, is the major species of squid caught off Cali fornia and is believed to be quite abundant off the coast of B.C. Accord ingl71 some aspects of its biology are described here. The information presented is largely extracted from the studies of Fields (1950, 1965) and McGowan (1954) on California squid. Presumably, much of this information is applicable to 1· opalescens on the B.C. coast. Mature 1· op&lescens is whitish and measures approximately 20-25 em (about 8-10 inches) including the tentacles. It is endemic, tends to inhabit the shallower waters of the continental shelf, and is distributed from the coast of California to the Queen Charlotte Islands, and even perhaps to Alaska. During the mating season (probably in the late summer locally), this species congregates to form large, dense schools near the sea bottom. Since the flesh of the squid is of good quality during the mating season, the harvesting of Loligo opalescens at this particular period makes good economic sense. On the other hand, most of the other species of squid are more difficult to harvest due to their pelagic nature. 6. According to Fields (1965) the sexes are visually distinguish able since the tentacles of the males are longer than those of the females, relative to the mantle length. Furthermore, males possess slightly larger heads and thicker arms than females. Like other species of squid, Loliso opalescens are very active predators, capable of very quick movements. They capture and teed on crustaceans, small fish and even other squid. Indeed, Fields found that 75% of spawning squid had been feeding on other squid. During non spawning periods, however, the squid's diet appears to consist of about 75% fish and 25% crustaceans. Loligo are, in turn, actively preyed upon by salmon, dogfish, tuna, halibut, ling cod, and other fish. Most marine maDIIlals, including whales, porpoises, dolphins, seals, and sea lions, also feed on squid. For example, 50 sperm whale stomachs checked by Pike (1950) indicated that squid remains were found in 7CJ1, of them. Sea birds and scavenging invertebrates, such as crabs, are active feeders of squid, especially after the squid have spawned and are in a spent condition. The spawning behavior of Loligo opalescens has been described by Fields (1950, 1965), McGowan (1954) and recently by Cousteau (1973). During the mating season, squid congregate in massive numbers on the spawning grounds (usually a sheltered bay less than 20 fathoms or about 40 meters deep with a sandy or muddy bottom). Fertilization is effected by the male using its special hectocotylized ventral left arm to grasp the sperm packet from its penis and transferring it to the mouth of the oviduct in the mantle cavity of the female. Several males may grasp the same feutale simultaneously. The mating and spawning acts generally occur at night. 7. The female lays up to )00 eggs encased in a jelly-like capsule which adheres to the sea bottom. Some ~ such capsules may be laid in a single night by a female s-quid. After spawning, the squid is believed to die naturally or fall prey to predators while in the spent condition. The natural life span of Loligo opalescens is not definitely known. Fields (1965) has indicated that both males and females complete their life cycle in about three years. 8. III. COMMERCIAL ASPECTS In contrast to the foregoing section which dealt brieflY with some biological aspects of squid, we present in this section all infor mation that we deemed of interest to those who may consider becoming involved in a squid fishing operation on the B.C. coast. A. Fishing methods Since squid fisheries have existed for centuries, maD7 fishing techniques have been used. These methods are briefly described recently by Voss (1973) and the following summar,y is taken largely from his report (1969). 1. Spearing and Hooking This is probably the oldest method used and is performed most successfully at night with the aid of torches, flares or electric lights.