Profile updated on 30 March 2023
SCIENTIFIC NAME(s)
Dosidicus gigas
SPECIES NAME(s)
Jumbo flying squid
COMMON NAMES
Humboldt squid
Jumbo flying squid in the Eastern Pacific extends from the waters off Chile to the North American coast. Californian and southern populations represent genetically different stocks with some migration among them, in a genetic structure apparently influenced by oceanic currents. Jumbo flying squid has no physiological or energetic limitations to move in this range, but there are biological factors that determine the separation of the NE Pacific and SE Pacific stocks, such as a preference for spawning areas, food availability, and oceanographic conditions (Sandoval-Castellanos et al. 2010). It has been noted that oceanographic conditions (such as the ENSO influence) and changes in top predators' distribution and abundance could promote the colonization of new areas and ecosystems along the American Pacific coast (Zeidberg and Robison 2007)(Rodhouse 2008).
Information on the assessment or management of the stock could only be found for Mexico, being an assessment unit considered. Catches could only be found as well for the country and are negligible for the USA (FAO 2020), being unclear if the remaining countries capture it along its distribution. In Mexican waters, jumbo squid is most commonly found in the Gulf of California, with main abundances off the coast of Guaymas, Sonora, and Santa Rosalia, Baja California Sur (Nevárez-Martı́nez et al. 2000)(Nevarez-Martínez et al. 2014).
Management Quality:
≥ 6
≥ 6
≥ 6
Smale-Scale Fisheries: