The Alaska Board of Fisheries has declined to establish a new squid fishery, despite claims from some fishers that the species is abundant and marketable enough to justify a commercial fishery.
Submitted by Richard Yamada, the owner of a sportfishing lodge in Southeast Alaska and a commissioner on the International Pacific Halibut Commission, Proposal 230 would have created a directed jig fishery for magister armhook squid (Berryteuthis magister) in the waters of Southeast Alaska. According to Yamada, squid is an underutilized species living in Alaska waters that could be harvested to meet an emerging global demand for squid.
“My research has found that there is a global shortage of squid,” Yamada told the board. “This has led some countries to overfish their squid fisheries, and some that depend on imports of squid are facing geopolitical barriers that are limiting their ability to acquire squid. My interviews with squid wholesalers in Japan as well as in our domestic markets confirm this market situation. The results of a market report by McKinley Research Group, which was commissioned in my study, also supported this conclusion of a worldwide shortage of squid and agreed this may be an opportune time for Alaska to enter the squid market.”
Yamada has campaigned publicly for the establishment of a new fishery, launching a website to promote the idea and highlight the potential benefits of magister armhook squid as a commercially harvested species. In 2023, Yamada’s United Anglers of Alaska group was awarded grant funding through the Saltonstall-Kennedy Program to develop a global market for squid.
Several commercial fishers released public comments in support of the proposal, arguing that the species was abundant in Alaska waters and offered a stable revenue alternative for struggling fishers.
“From a commercial and economic perspective, a directed fishery for magister may provide an alternative for commercial fishermen, and the communities they’re connected to, who are struggling with low abundance and depressed prices for currently targeted finfish species,” Alaska Charter Association Executive Director Wayne Nasu told the board. “It could help provide some stability in an industry that has experienced drastic, adverse changes in several sectors within recent years.”
The proposal was opposed by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G), which claimed that the government lacked enough information on the squid to develop a sustainable management plan for the species.
“The department does not have a stock assessment program for magister armhook squid and lacks the biological information needed to establish a management plan that would result in a sustainable fishery,” ADF&G explained in its public comments on the bill.
Individual fishers interested in harvesting magister armhook squid can apply for a commissioner’s permit to do so. ADF&G noted usage of that permit remains low and there does not appear to be demand for a higher level of harvest.
“There have been no inquiries from fish buyers or processors regarding increased need of squid harvest to fulfill market demands,” the department said. “At this stage of the fishery, a regulatory management plan is not needed.”
In his public comments, Nasu suggested fishers told him the permitting requirements were “cumbersome and discourage participation.”
The board ultimately rejected the proposal in a 5-2 vote at its most recent meeting, which took place 28 January to 9 February in Ketchikan, Alaska, U.S.A.
