Market Squid Doryteuthis (Loligo) opalescens ©Monterey Bay Aquarium California Purse Seine November 9, 2012 Oren Frey, Consulting Researcher Disclaimer Seafood Watch® strives to ensure all our Seafood Reports and the recommendations contained therein are accurate and reflect the most up-to-date evidence available at time of publication. All our reports are peer- reviewed for accuracy and completeness by external scientists with expertise in ecology, fisheries science or aquaculture. Scientific review, however, does not constitute an endorsement of the Seafood Watch program or its recommendations on the part of the reviewing scientists. Seafood Watch is solely responsible for the conclusions reached in this report. We always welcome additional or updated data that can be used for the next revision. Seafood Watch and Seafood Reports are made possible through a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. 2 Final Seafood Recommendation This report provides recommendations for the US domestic fishery for market squid (Doryteuthis opalescens, formerly Loligo opalescens). Nearly all market squid are fished and landed in California using purse seines, and are considered a Good Alternative. Impacts Impacts on Manage- Habitat and Fishery on the Overall Other Species ment Ecosystem Stock Lowest scoring Rank species Rank Rank Recommendation (Score) Rank*, (Subscore, (Score) (Score) (Score) Score) Market Squid, GOOD Purse Seine Yellow Northern Anchovy Yellow Yellow ALTERNATIVE (2.64) Yellow, (2.64,2.64) (2.45) (3.12) (2.7) Scoring note – scores range from zero to five where zero indicates very poor performance and five indicates the fishing operations have no significant impact. * Rank and color in the 'Impacts on other Species' column is defined based on the Subscore rather than the Score. See scoring rules for more information. 3 Table of Contents Final Seafood Recommendation ................................................................................................................... 2 Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Analysis ......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Criterion 1: Stock for which you want a recommendation ........................................................................................ 8 Criterion 2: Impacts on other retained and bycatch stocks .................................................................................... 14 Criterion 3: Management effectiveness .................................................................................................................. 22 Criterion 4: Impacts on the habitat and ecosystem ................................................................................................ 31 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................................... 37 References .................................................................................................................................................. 37 Appendix A: Review Schedule .................................................................................................................... 46 About Seafood Watch® ............................................................................................................................... 47 Guiding Principles ....................................................................................................................................... 48 4 Executive Summary This report provides recommendations for the US domestic fishery for market squid (Doryteuthis opalescens, formerly Loligo opalescens). Market squid range from southeastern Alaska to Punta Eugenia, Baja California Sur, Mexico. The fishery for market squid occurs along the US West Coast and is one of the largest fisheries by mass in the country. Since 1986, nearly all market squid have been fished and landed in California. As such, this report assesses and provides a recommendation for only the purse seine market squid fishery in California. Market squid are highly resilient to fishing pressure. There is no estimate for market squid biomass and without this information MSY cannot be determined. Factors affecting market squid abundance are minimally understood, and the effects of fishing mortality on the market squid stock are unclear. Bycatch in the market squid fishery is generally very low and bycatch is most commonly comprised of other coastal pelagic species (CPS). Northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) is evaluated as a limiting species. Biomass of northern anchovy is largely unknown. Very little is known about fishing mortality on northern anchovy. Although management recognizes the need to conduct research on market squid to better understand its life history and population dynamics, the market squid fishery lacks a stock assessment and there is no plan to conduct one. Various management measures are in place, but these are based entirely on fishery-dependent data. Although bycatch concerns in the fishery are minimal, management has not fully addressed the landing of market squid egg capsules and unspawned female market squid by the fishery. The purse seine fishery for market squid is conducted on sandy and muddy substrate and there is some interaction with the benthos. Managers have closed the waters of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary to market squid fishing boats that use attracting lights. Although several state MPAs protect market squid spawning grounds, there are no regulations to reduce the incidence of bottom contact by purse seine nets. As a key forage species in the California Current ecosystem, market squid can be considered an ‘exceptional species’ and there are efforts underway to assess the ecological impacts of the fishery. 5 Introduction Scope of the Analysis and Ensuing Recommendation This report provides recommendations for the domestic US fishery for market squid. Market squid (Doryteuthis opalescens, formerly Loligo opalescens) range from southeastern Alaska to Punta Eugenia, Baja California Sur, Mexico (Okutani and McGowan 1969). The fishery for market squid occurs along the US West Coast and is one of the largest fisheries by mass in the country. Since 1986, nearly all market squid have been fished and landed in California. As such, this report assesses and provides a recommendation only for the purse seine market squid fishery in California. Species Overview i. Overview of the species and management bodies California market squid is a short-lived species (~9 months) that has been an important commercial fishery species since the 1860s. The purse seine market squid fishery in California is comprised of northern and southern components. The northern fishery around Monterey Bay typically operates from April through November, and the southern fishery around the Channel Islands and coastal areas typically operates from October through March due to regional and temporal differences in peak spawning (Porzio and Brady 2008). The market squid fishery is managed by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDF&G) under the 2005 Market Squid Fishery Management Plan (MSFMP). The fishery is also federally monitored by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) under the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan (CPS FMP). ii. Production statistics Though established in 1863, California’s market squid fishery did not expand much until the 1980s. Diminishing squid fisheries in other parts of the world drove demand for increased landings of market squid from the US West Coast (NMFS 2012b). Landings have been almost entirely from nearshore waters in California. Though environmental factors have limited landings in some years, the overall trend has been toward increased landings. Market squid landings were over 127,500 mt in 2011 (CDF&G 2012), down slightly from a record high of 130,851 mt in 2010 (NMFS 2012a). In 2010, the mass of this single species fishery was approximately 66% of all capture fisheries in California as well as 41% of the value (Sweetnam 2011). These high landings represent a major increase from lower production levels from 2003 to 2008, when landings fell as low as 40,011 mt (Figure 3). Although landings in the Southern California Bight (the southern fishery) have exhibited ‘regional domination’ in recent years, market squid landings in Monterey Bay (the northern fishery) increased sharply in 2010 and 2011 (Sweetnam 2011). Monterey Bay landings had been less than 1,000 mt per year from 2007- to 2009, and increased to over 20,000 mt in 2010 (Sweetnam 2011). 6 Figure 3. US landings by calendar year for market squid, including all gear types, 1981-2010. Data from NMFS 2012a iii. Importance to the US/North American market The growing global market for squid has resulted in an increased demand for US squid. More than 80% of US squid landings (including longfin squid, shortfin squid, and market squid) are exported, with China being the largest market (65% of exports; Sea Fare Group 2011). In China, US squid is often processed into cleaned tubes and tentacles, and then imported to markets in the EU, US, and Japan (Sea Fare Group 2011). US squid