ECOLOGICAL DATA
Distribution: common in offshore coastal waters but
moves inshore to spawn.
Habitat: spawn in sheltered locations over mud or sand bottom; egg cases
deposited on mud or sand; juvenile squid feed in the upper 15 m and are dispersed by
currents; juveniles move offshore as they grow.
Tidal elevation: intertidal to 250 m subtidal depth; spawns in water depths of
3 to 40 m.
Food: predatory carnivore; newly hatched larvae prey upon tiny crustaceans in
the plankton; juveniles prey upon fish, crustaceans and smaller squid.
Predators: salmonids, flatfish, other fishes, sharks, marine mammals and sea
birds.
GROWTH RATE
Sexually mature at 1 yr; maximum length is about 175 mm; adults
weigh 14-70 g.
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FISHERY Small commercial fishery
exists in B.C. (less than 70 t in 1984).
REFERENCES
Bernard, F. 1980. Preliminary report on the potential
commercial squid of British Columbia. Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 942: 51 p.
Fields, W.G. 1965. The structure, development, food relations, reproduction, and life
history of the squid Loligo opalescens Berry. Calif. Dep. Fish Game Fish Bull. 131:
108 p.
Heritage, G.D. 1986. Squid, p. 50-53. In G. S. Jamieson and K. Francis [ed.]
Invertebrate and marine plant fishery resources of British Columbia. Can. Spec. Publ.
Fish. Aquat. Sci. 91.
Jefferts, K. 1986. Cephalopod fisheries of the North Pacific and their management, p.
34-56. In G.S. Jamieson and N. Bourne [ed.] North Pacific workshop on stock
assessment and management of invertebrates. Can. Spec. Publ. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 92.
Karpov, A., and G.M. Cailliet. 1978. Feeding dynamics of Loligo opalescens, p.
45-65. In C.W. Recksiek and H.W. Frey [ed.] Biological, oceanographic, and acoustic
aspects of the market squid, Loligo opalescens Berry. Calif. Dep. Fish Game Fish
Bull. 169.
Morejohn, G. V., J.T. Harvey, and L.T. Kesnow. 1978. The importance of Loligo
opalescens in the food web of marine vertebrates in Monterey Bay, California, p.
67-98. In C.W. Recksiek and H.W. Frey [ed.] Biological, oceanographic, and acoustic
aspects of the market squid, Loligo opalescens Berry. Calif. Dep. Fish Game Fish
Bull. 169.
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