"The time of day has a definite impact on the production 

 of squid, but dependent on what type of gear or fishing ap- 

 proach you use," Rathjen says. "If you're using bottom 

 trawls, they're likely to be most effective during the time of 

 day when there's bright light. The squid would be expected 

 to be close to the bottom then. Characteristically squid will 

 move off the bottom during hours of darkness." 



At night, Rathjen says another method, squid jigging, 

 frequently used by the Japanese, is more productive. An 

 automated squid jig is used along with a light that is immer- 

 sed in the water to attract small fishes and crabs, which in 

 turn attract squid. The automatic jig consists of a reel, a 

 roller and a strong monafilament line weighted at the end 

 and rigged with a series of six to 10 squid jigs about three 

 feet apart. A squid jig is a circle of barbless hooks, which 

 snag the mollusks as the line is moved up and down. Jigging 

 results in less damage to harvested squid than trawling, 

 which sometimes crushes and tears the cephalopods. 



In fishing experiments conducted by the New York Sea 

 Grant Extension Program, fishermen and extension 

 specialists learned that the squid jigging devices caught 

 limited quantities of Loligo squid, but worked well for 

 catching ///ex squid. Converting a 50-foot boat for squid 

 jigging costs between $10,000 and $30,000. Advisory agents 

 concluded that until a stronger market for ///ex squid 

 developed and a higher quality harvest demanded, conver- 

 sion to squid jigging was not economically sound. 



Voss says the greatest potential for the U.S. squid fishery 

 lies in the harvest of the brief squid, which prefers an in- 

 shore habitat. "I really think that the small inshore squid 

 has tremendous promise because it occurs in large num- 

 bers," Voss says. "It's close in, so we don't have long runs 

 out to the fishing grounds and back. It could be done by bay 



Jigs like these are used to snag squid 



boats. All it would take is to develop a larger market as they 

 have done in Texas, where it is being sold in supermarkets." 



Moon Tillett hopes the squid fishery goes the way of the 

 shrimp fishery. "I remember when they brought shrimp in 

 by the netfuls and threw 'em away," he says. "Sixty years 

 ago shrimp just weren't eaten. They called them 'old bugs.' 

 I think squid has the same potential. 



"I swore I wouldn't live long enough to eat squid. But I 

 ate a handful last summer fried in the deep fry. They tasted 

 just like clam strips. If they're tender, I don't think you 

 could tell the difference." 



— Kathy Hart 



A better image, a bigger market 



The squid has an image problem. 

 And it's not just the Jules Verne syn- 

 drome. It's the soft body, the eight 

 arms and two tentacles, the big black 

 eyes. And, that name. Squid. 



Spaniards eat calamares. Italians 

 eat calamari. The Japanese make ika a 

 part of nearly every meal. But will 

 Americans eat squid? Chances are they 

 will — if marketing succeeds. 



For over 30 years, Gilbert Voss, a 

 biologist at the University of Miami, 

 has made squid his business. While you 

 may turn up your nose at mention of 

 the ugly cephalopod, Voss speaks of 

 squid with admiration. He wants us to 

 do more than study the squid; he 

 wants us to eat it. 



"Squid is one of the major fisheries 

 of the world, and there are areas in 

 which squid has been eaten since 

 classical times," says Voss. He thinks 

 Americans could learn something from 

 those other nations. 



For example, squid is as much a part 



of the diet in Japan and Spain as the 

 hamburger is in the United States. 

 Japan is the world's largest squid 

 market, with an annual consumption 

 of about 600,000 tons, over half the 

 world's total squid production. Con- 

 sumers there pull packages of dry, 

 shredded squid from vending 

 machines. While the Japanese prefer 

 their squid uncooked, they also con- 

 sume large quantities of squid in dried, 

 cured, salted and canned forms. 



In northern Europe and South 

 America, the squid is gaining in pop- 

 ularity. But, so far, in the United 

 States, squid is served mainly as an 

 ethnic food. 



Voss says a successful fishery will re- 

 quire a healthy market here in the 

 United States. And, the key to the 

 success of the U.S. market is going to 

 be public acceptance of squid. The way 

 to do that is easy, he says. Get every 

 American to try squid just once. 



Some of the hurdles have already 



been overcome. Ten years ago, fisher- 

 men tossed their incidental catches of 

 squid overboard, or they used them as 

 bait. Now, more and more fishermen 

 are fishing specifically for squid. North 

 Carolina fishermen say they have no 

 problems catching the squid; it's just a 

 matter of finding a market. 



A California seafood company has 

 been marketing squid for over 20 

 years. Pat Flanagan, vice-president of 

 General Fish Corporation in San Fran- 

 cisco, says his company concentrated 

 on a very small market in California, 

 selling mainly to ethnic groups. During 

 that 20-year period, the most squid the 

 company produced was about 500,000 

 pounds per year. But, Flanagan says 

 they succeeded in establishing a 

 market. 



Flanagan believes that restaurants 

 will be the key to the squid's success in 

 this country. Once the cephalopod 

 makes it to the menu, people will begin 

 to accept it, he says. 



