Squid
Squid are cephalopods, marine mollusks with tentacles. They share this classification with octopuses, cuttlefish, and nautili.
In the Pacific Northwest, we have several species of squid, but the the opalescent inshore squid, more commonly known as “market squid”, is the only one fished commercially.
Species
Squid
Market squid (Doryteuthis opalescens)
Rare species
Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas)
Commander squid (Berryteuthis magister)
Market squid
Doryteuthis opalescens, the market squid, is a small squid that inhabits nearshore waters from Baja California to Alaska. It is in the family Loliginidae, which comprises the pencil squids, a group of squid with a high commercial importance around the world. D. opalescens was previously classified as Loligo opalescens and is still sometimes sold as “loligo squid”.
Market squid are small, but can reach up to 11 inches in total length. The mantle (body) is usually between 5 to 7 inches when full-grown. They are short-lived, with a lifespan of less than a year. Like other squid, they are predators that feed on other squid, mollusks, crustaceans, and fish. They are, in turn, prey for many other marine animals.
Market squid have been fished in California since the late 1800s, first in Monterey by Chinese fishermen starting in 1860, and later by Italian fishermen in the early 1900s. Today, the majority of the market squid caught in California is caught in Southern California.
In the Pacific Northwest, squid were not frequently targeted historically. The fishery has recently boomed, however, as populations of market squid have moved further north as ocean temperatures have increased due to climate change. The squid are more abundant with warmer waters. The fishery was non-existent in Oregon until 2016, since when it has grown significantly, although it is still dwarfed by the Californian fishery.
The season for market squid is open year-round in the Pacific Northwest, but commercial boats mainly target squid when they congregate in large numbers in semi-protected bays in order to spawn. When that occurs depends on the region: in Oregon, it starts in early spring and continues into early summer. Commercial fishing boats begin targeting squid as early as April in southern Oregon. In Washington, spawning starts in late summer. Many recreational fishermen consider late fall to the best time to catch squid in the Puget Sound.
Cooking with market squid
Squid ink: like most squid, market squid have an ink sac that they use as a defense mechanism to evade predators. Although it is often referred to as “squid ink”, the black ink that is cooked with in the Mediterranean and Japan is made from cuttlefish, which has a much larger ink sac. Cuttlefish ink is brown-black in color (which is how the color “sepia” got its name), whereas squid ink is blue-black. In the Mediterranean, the species used is Sepia officinalis. In Japan, a number of species including Sepia esculenta and Sepiella japonica are used. Japanese traditions of cooking with cephalopod ink were likely introduced from the Mediterranean region as far back the Edo period, but became especially popular in the later 20th century.
Although it is not the usual commercial source of so-called “squid ink”, the small ink sac in market squid can be saved when cleaning them and used in the same way. A small amount actually goes a long way. In addition, there’s a small amount of ink behind the squid’s eyes that can also be used, although it can be more work than it’s worth trying to extract it.
Squid guts: an interesting use for the guts removed from squid when cleaning them is to make the Japanese preparation “shiokara”, a salty fermented product that is often eaten as a drinking snack. Like
Rare species
The Humboldt squid, Dosidicus gigas, is a large squid in the Ommastrephidae family. It’s related to the heavily-fished Japanese flying squid, Todarodes pacificus, popular in Japan and Korea. D. gigas reaches sizes up to 6 feet in length, and have a lifespan of about one year.
Like other large squid, Humboldt squid have ammonium chloride in their bodies that helps keep them bouyant in seawater. This can give them a bad flavor, but commercially caught Humboldt squid are processed to neutralize the ammonium chloride. The squid is often sold as “steaks”. Alternatively, the squid meat can be boiled in saltwater for at least thirty minutes (word on the street - I haven’t tried this myself).
Humboldt squid are native to southern Chile up to California, but their range has been expanding northwards since the early 2000s; they are now have a year-round presence in the Monterey Bay and are often seen from Oregon up to Alaska as they migrate over the course of the year. Humboldt squid are a deep-sea species that is caught using a jig, a specialized type of hook, on long lines. Most of the Humboldt squid in the world is caught in Chile, Mexico, and Peru. Today, the species often makes up the largest catch of squid in the world by weight.
There is no commercial fishery for Humboldt squid in the Pacific Northwest, but they are often caught recreationally in late summer and early fall, when waters are at their warmest.
Berryteuthis magister, the commander squid, is a medium-sized deep-sea squid found in the North Pacific Ocean. They are commonly fished in Japanese and Russian waters near the Kuril Islands and further north, but their range is known to extend across the Bering Sea and down to California along the western coast of North America. For our purposes, this is a very rare species.
