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Squid
Common name: Calamari
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Wild Caught
Region:
Taiwan, Thailand, China, Malaysia
Note: It is likely some squid imported into Australia are caught using squid jigs, which is a low impact method of fishing. However, as fishing method is not recorded in import documents, it is not possible to know at the point of sale how imported squid is caught.
- Analysis of fisheries that catch squid in overseas fisheries is complex, as squid are caught in multiple fisheries, accessing reports is problematic and the quality of management varies across the region. Regional assessments of fisheries is Southeast Asia indicate that many species, including species of squid, are overfished.
- Severe habitat impacts as a result of trawl fishing have been identified, particularly on coral reefs.
- Trawl fishing has been identified as a key threat to vulnerable marine wildlife, including dugongs and turtles.
- China (6,200t imported 2009-10)
- Taiwan (1,500t 2009-10)
- Thailand (1,200t 2009-10)
- Malaysia (500t 2009-10)
Analysis of overseas fisheries that catch squid is complex, as multiple different species are caught in multiple different fisheries managed by different countries including China, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia. These fisheries catch a wide range of other species, including species of octopus and finfish, accessing reports is problematic and the quality of management varies across the region.
Little is known about the stock status of squid in Asia, as stock assessments of squid are difficult to conduct because they grow extremely quickly, live only about twelve months, and their reproduction is highly variable depending on environmental conditions, for example, seawater temperature. Regional assessments of fisheries in Southeast Asia indicate that in general, high fishing pressure on a range of species, including squid species, in coastal waters has led to declining catches across the region, with many species of squid now overfished.
Squid is caught using trawl fishing gear. Studies have identified that trawling for octopus and squid has damaged large areas of coral reef habitat in parts of Southeast Asia. For example, around 80% of corals in Thai waters have been damaged or destroyed as a result of fishing gear impacts, although it is not clear what proportion of this is as a result of trawling for squid.
In regional assessments of fishing impacts, trawl fishing has been identified as a key threat to a number of different species of vulnerable marine wildlife, including dugongs and turtles. Dugong populations have been decimated to the point of local extinction in some areas, and green, hawksbill and olive ridley turtles are caught in trawl fisheries in Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Although there have been improvements in fisheries management in recent years, it is not yet clear whether efforts to reduce mortality of threatened species have been successful.
It is likely that some squid imported into Australia are caught in fisheries that use jigs, which are a low impact method of fishing that has minor bycatch and habitat impacts. However, the method of fishing is not recorded in import information and therefore is also not shown at the point of sale in Australia.
