As of November 2018, squid landings grew 10.3 percent over the same period of 2017

Jumbo flying squid landings grow after three years down

PERU
Tuesday, January 15, 2019, 20:30 (GMT + 9)

The landings of Jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) amounted to 311,329 tonnes between January and November 2018, an increase of 10.3 percent in terms of value with respect to the same period of 2017, informed the Minister of Production, Raúl Pérez-Reyes. 

The head of the sector stressed that the figure represents a recovery, after three consecutive years of decline in which the resource showed a high dispersion that made it difficult to catch it, affected by the presence of the Coastal El Niño Phenomenon of 2017.

He explained that the result recorded in the first 11 months of last year was driven by greater availability of the resource, also known as giant squid, and a normalization in oceanographic conditions on the coast.

He also stressed that, at the national level, the squid catches constitutes the second most important fishing activity in Peru, both in terms of volume and exported value.

Giant squid recently landed from a artisanal boat (Photo: Produce)

Regarding exports, the minister indicated that between January and October of 2018, shipments abroad of products made on the basis of jumbo flying squid exceeded USD 589 million (FOB value).

The main destinations for the squid exports are Spain, China, Thailand, South Korea and Japan, which account for 80 percent of shipments made in that period.

On the other hand, Pérez-Reyes reported that on January 5, the Institute of the Sea of Peru (IMARPE) began the second phase of the research cruise to estimate the giant squid biomass, which will contribute, among other things, to consolidating the process of evaluation of this resource.

He explained that the operation has the participation of the scientific ships BIC José Olaya Balandra and Humboldt, and will be carried out for a period of 24 days.

He specified that the cruise, which will use the acoustic evaluation method, will cover the southern area (between San Juan de Marcona and Ilo) of the Peruvian coast.

Once the study is completed, the IMARPE will prepare a technical document that will be sent to the Ministry of Production (PRODUCE) to make each year´s fishing projections and elaborate the fishery management measures that guarantee its sustainability.

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