Worldwide squid fisheries: A summary of landings and capture techniques

World-wide catches of cephalopods peaked in 1987 at 2.3 million metric tons, of which about 1.84 million tons (80*) were squids. Annual catches can vary widely depending on a variety of environmental, biological and fishery-induced factors, all poorly understood. Estimates for potential production of cephalods exceed 4 million tons. Cephalopods are captured by a variety of gears, primarily jigging machines, trawls and drift nets. While jigging, trolling, pelagic seining, potting, etc. are less destructive techniques that target specific sizes and species, trawling and drift netting tend to be non-discriminatory, therefore threatening juveniles of target species, non- target species and habitats. Fishermen, industry representatives, fishery scientists and resource managers, and national and international fishery administrators must collaborate to develop research and statistics programs, "resource-friendly" capture techniques and seasons, and rational management schemes to ensure continued, or even increased, sustained production