Species and Habitat Outlines

Opal Squid
TAXONOMY

Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Decapoda
Family: Loliginidae

 

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.

 

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.

 

For more information on opal squid habitat utilization and life cycles - click here

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