Céphalopodes

Squid landings low and prices skyrocketing

Landings of illex squid off the South American coast in 2015 were about 25% below 2014 figures. Total Argentine landings of Illex argentinus for 2015 amounted to 126 500 tonnes. For 2016, the situation is even more dire.

According to authorities, illex catches in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) exclusive economic zone (EEZ) so far this season were just 2 000 tonnes, an extreme drop compared with 170 000 tonnes during the same period last year. In fact, catches have been so low that the authorities are considering reimbursing part of the licence fees to vessels.

The loligo fishery has shown more encouraging signs. In 2015, Argentine loligo landings hit a record 358 000 tonnes, up from 306 000 tonnes in 2014. In 2016, loligo landings are expected to fall again, but not as dramatically as is the case for illex.

In Argentine waters, production figures are a bit brighter, but still below landings last year. The poor landings off South America are generally attributed to the strong El Niño in 2015/2016. However, scientists are now expecting the current El Niño to taper off and temperature conditions to return to normal. This should bring about an improvement in landings over the next year.

El Niño is having the same effect on squid fisheries further north, along the California coast. Squid supplies are very tight locally, and this is affecting local restaurants as well as the squid fishermen.
According to Undercurrent News, the shortage of illex may lead some retailers to shift their sourcing to giant squid from Peru. Retail demand for squid in Europe is strong, but supplies and inventories are low.

In terms of trade, for the first quarter of 2016, there was a slight decline in Japanese imports of squid. Imports fell from 16 400 tonnes during the first quarter of 2015 to 15 200 tonnes during the same period in 2016 (-7.3%). Both the leading supplier, China, and the second largest supplier, Peru, shipped less squid to Japan during this period, while shipments from Chile went up by 300 tonnes (+27.2%).