54
G. J. Pierce and J. Portela
1995; Siebel et al. 2005) into palatable form. In addition, global climate change
seems certainly to impact species which are notoriously sensitive to environmental
conditions. As more such fisheries become fully exploited or overexploited, alternatives will be needed.
As is the case for Gulf of Maine lobster fisheries, some fishing practices may favour proliferation of particular species, effectively moving from hunter–gatherer to
farming. However, whether this is a desirable practice is questionable. Ongrowing
in sea cages is already established for some species of octopus (see, e.g. Chaps. 9
and 24 for Octopus vulgaris) and further development of cephalopod aquaculture
represents one of the most promising future options (Iglesias et al. 2007).
3.9 Conclusions
Since 1950, as many finfish stocks have declined, cephalopod fishery resources
have come to occupy a leading place in the search for new resources that could support a high level of exploitation, reflecting their high abundance in some areas, as
well as their palatability and nutritional qualities.
Cephalopods play an important role as research models in medical and biological
research and are keystone species in marine ecosystems, being both active predators
and important sources of prey for other species ranging from fish to seabirds and
marine mammals. They are found in all the oceans and seas from coastal waters to
the high seas, and from the surface to depths of more than 5,000 m.
World cephalopod landings rose from 500,000 t in 1950 to a peak of more than
4 million t in 2007. Over this period, the Northwest Pacific has been the most important fishery region for cephalopods, the Japanese flying squid ( T� pacificus) being the
most important landed species, mainly caught by the Japanese domestic fleet. In the
early 1970s, around 40 % of the world catch of cephalopods came from around Japan. Since this time, the Southwest Atlantic and the Southeast Pacific have assumed
high importance for catches of abundant marketable species (notably I� argentinus
and Dosidicus gigas), since the mid-1980s and 1990, respectively. On a global scale,
cephalopod landings are dominated by the large-scale trawl and jig fisheries, but
small-scale artisanal fisheries using a variety of traditional gears play an important
role in cephalopod fisheries worldwide.
Exports of fishery products including cephalopods represent a major income for
many developing countries, while processing, wholesaling and retailing of imported
seafood are of considerable economic significance for the three major global seafood
importers (Japan, the EU and the USA), in addition to satisfying consumer demand.
FAO data on cephalopod landings suggest that the boom years of cephalopod fisheries
may already be over, reflecting overexploitation in some areas while, in the future, climate change may further threaten established cephalopod fisheries. Consequently, the
development of culture techniques for cephalopods represents an important alternative.
Acknowledgments We thank the three anonymous referees for their useful comments on the
submitted version of this chapter. The fishery statistics reported here derive from the FishStatJ
G. J. Pierce and J. Portela
1995; Siebel et al. 2005) into palatable form. In addition, global climate change
seems certainly to impact species which are notoriously sensitive to environmental
conditions. As more such fisheries become fully exploited or overexploited, alternatives will be needed.
As is the case for Gulf of Maine lobster fisheries, some fishing practices may favour proliferation of particular species, effectively moving from hunter–gatherer to
farming. However, whether this is a desirable practice is questionable. Ongrowing
in sea cages is already established for some species of octopus (see, e.g. Chaps. 9
and 24 for Octopus vulgaris) and further development of cephalopod aquaculture
represents one of the most promising future options (Iglesias et al. 2007).
3.9 Conclusions
Since 1950, as many finfish stocks have declined, cephalopod fishery resources
have come to occupy a leading place in the search for new resources that could support a high level of exploitation, reflecting their high abundance in some areas, as
well as their palatability and nutritional qualities.
Cephalopods play an important role as research models in medical and biological
research and are keystone species in marine ecosystems, being both active predators
and important sources of prey for other species ranging from fish to seabirds and
marine mammals. They are found in all the oceans and seas from coastal waters to
the high seas, and from the surface to depths of more than 5,000 m.
World cephalopod landings rose from 500,000 t in 1950 to a peak of more than
4 million t in 2007. Over this period, the Northwest Pacific has been the most important fishery region for cephalopods, the Japanese flying squid ( T� pacificus) being the
most important landed species, mainly caught by the Japanese domestic fleet. In the
early 1970s, around 40 % of the world catch of cephalopods came from around Japan. Since this time, the Southwest Atlantic and the Southeast Pacific have assumed
high importance for catches of abundant marketable species (notably I� argentinus
and Dosidicus gigas), since the mid-1980s and 1990, respectively. On a global scale,
cephalopod landings are dominated by the large-scale trawl and jig fisheries, but
small-scale artisanal fisheries using a variety of traditional gears play an important
role in cephalopod fisheries worldwide.
Exports of fishery products including cephalopods represent a major income for
many developing countries, while processing, wholesaling and retailing of imported
seafood are of considerable economic significance for the three major global seafood
importers (Japan, the EU and the USA), in addition to satisfying consumer demand.
FAO data on cephalopod landings suggest that the boom years of cephalopod fisheries
may already be over, reflecting overexploitation in some areas while, in the future, climate change may further threaten established cephalopod fisheries. Consequently, the
development of culture techniques for cephalopods represents an important alternative.
Acknowledgments We thank the three anonymous referees for their useful comments on the
submitted version of this chapter. The fishery statistics reported here derive from the FishStatJ