47
3 Fisheries Production and Market Demand
Atlantic. In support of their general hypothesis, the authors noted the shorter life
cycle of cephalopods, their more rapid turnover and lower standing stocks than seen
in longer-lived finfish. They proposed that, under high fishing pressure, groundfish
are outcompeted by cephalopods as they have less opportunity for spawning and
replacement.
Hunsicker et al. (2010) examined the relative importance of cephalopods in various large marine ecosystems (LMEs) around the world during 1990–2004, in terms
of their direct contribution to landings (and landed value) and their estimated indirect contribution as food of other landed species. They showed that the relative
(direct) contribution of cephalopods to landings varied widely between areas, being
the highest on the Patagonian Shelf (around 40 % of landings) but low in LMEs
in and adjacent to Europe, such as the Canary Current (8 %), Celtic-Biscay Shelf
(around 2.5 %) and North Sea (< 1 %). In terms of absolute amounts of cephalopods
caught, there was a striking increase from 1960–1970 to 1990–2004. During the
former period, only the Sea of Japan supported a large cephalopod fishery (basically
that for Todarodes pacificus) and cephalopod catches on the Patagonian Shelf were
minimal. By the latter period, the Patagonian Shelf fishery had become the most important cephalopod fishery in the world and cephalopod fisheries had expanded in
most regions. As will be seen from the summary of FAO data below, this picture is
already out of date, with the rise of China as a major player in squid fishing and the
expansion of cephalopod fishing along the Pacific coastline of the Americas supported by a marked increase in jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas abundance. Hunsicker
et al. (2010) expressed concern that the rapid expansion of cephalopod fishing over
the past three decades may be unsustainable.
By far, the most important fishery region for cephalopods since 1950 is the
Northwest Pacific, which accounts for 43.8 % of all recorded cephalopod landings
across the world during 1950–2010 (to put this in perspective, cephalopod landings
from the Northeast Atlantic over the same period represent 2 % of the global total).
Cephalopod catches of almost 1.3 million t were landed from this region in 2010
(down from a peak of 1.47 million t in 2004). There has been a general trend of increased landings during 1990–2010 although landings have been more stable since
2000. Until 2002, Japan was the most important country for cephalopod landings,
and the Japanese flying squid ( T� pacificus, maximum mantle length (ML) = 50 cm)
was the most important of cephalopods in the landings. The Todarodes fishery suffered a decrease in 1985 and, although it recovered by the mid-1990s, landings
have again been in decline since 2000. Since 2002, squid (species not recorded)
landed by China have become the most important category. Although the majority
of landings from this area in recent years were not identified to species in the FAO
statistics, two other squids, the neon flying squid ( Ommastrephes bartramii) and
schoolmaster gonate squid ( Berryteuthis magister), are identified as making up a
small proportion of catches. In the 1990s, the main squids taken by China appear
to have been T� pacificus and Uroteuthis (formerly Loligo) edulis (Ling and Zheng
2000).
The region showing the second highest peak in landings since 1950 (1.2 million t
in 1999) is the Southwest Atlantic. Catches in this area started to become significant
3 Fisheries Production and Market Demand
Atlantic. In support of their general hypothesis, the authors noted the shorter life
cycle of cephalopods, their more rapid turnover and lower standing stocks than seen
in longer-lived finfish. They proposed that, under high fishing pressure, groundfish
are outcompeted by cephalopods as they have less opportunity for spawning and
replacement.
Hunsicker et al. (2010) examined the relative importance of cephalopods in various large marine ecosystems (LMEs) around the world during 1990–2004, in terms
of their direct contribution to landings (and landed value) and their estimated indirect contribution as food of other landed species. They showed that the relative
(direct) contribution of cephalopods to landings varied widely between areas, being
the highest on the Patagonian Shelf (around 40 % of landings) but low in LMEs
in and adjacent to Europe, such as the Canary Current (8 %), Celtic-Biscay Shelf
(around 2.5 %) and North Sea (< 1 %). In terms of absolute amounts of cephalopods
caught, there was a striking increase from 1960–1970 to 1990–2004. During the
former period, only the Sea of Japan supported a large cephalopod fishery (basically
that for Todarodes pacificus) and cephalopod catches on the Patagonian Shelf were
minimal. By the latter period, the Patagonian Shelf fishery had become the most important cephalopod fishery in the world and cephalopod fisheries had expanded in
most regions. As will be seen from the summary of FAO data below, this picture is
already out of date, with the rise of China as a major player in squid fishing and the
expansion of cephalopod fishing along the Pacific coastline of the Americas supported by a marked increase in jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas abundance. Hunsicker
et al. (2010) expressed concern that the rapid expansion of cephalopod fishing over
the past three decades may be unsustainable.
By far, the most important fishery region for cephalopods since 1950 is the
Northwest Pacific, which accounts for 43.8 % of all recorded cephalopod landings
across the world during 1950–2010 (to put this in perspective, cephalopod landings
from the Northeast Atlantic over the same period represent 2 % of the global total).
Cephalopod catches of almost 1.3 million t were landed from this region in 2010
(down from a peak of 1.47 million t in 2004). There has been a general trend of increased landings during 1990–2010 although landings have been more stable since
2000. Until 2002, Japan was the most important country for cephalopod landings,
and the Japanese flying squid ( T� pacificus, maximum mantle length (ML) = 50 cm)
was the most important of cephalopods in the landings. The Todarodes fishery suffered a decrease in 1985 and, although it recovered by the mid-1990s, landings
have again been in decline since 2000. Since 2002, squid (species not recorded)
landed by China have become the most important category. Although the majority
of landings from this area in recent years were not identified to species in the FAO
statistics, two other squids, the neon flying squid ( Ommastrephes bartramii) and
schoolmaster gonate squid ( Berryteuthis magister), are identified as making up a
small proportion of catches. In the 1990s, the main squids taken by China appear
to have been T� pacificus and Uroteuthis (formerly Loligo) edulis (Ling and Zheng
2000).
The region showing the second highest peak in landings since 1950 (1.2 million t
in 1999) is the Southwest Atlantic. Catches in this area started to become significant