Maine Seafood Guide – Squid

squid swimming over sand
A squid (Illex illecebrosus) cruising over a sandy area of the bank. Photo: William Millhouser, NOS.
Species Description
Season
Status
Regulatory Authority
Harvest Method
Recreational Harvest
Health Benefits & Risks
Buying & Preparing
Brands
Certifications
Links

►Species Description

Longfin squid Loligo pealei
Shortfin squid Illex illecebrosus
also known as loligo, calamari

Squids are invertebrate mollusks, in the same class as octopus, cuttlefish, and nautilus. They can squirt a cloud of black ink when bothered, and change color to blend in with their surroundings. Their large eyes allow for sharp vision in light and darkness. Squid are a major source of food for other marine animals including bluefish, swordfish, sea ravens, flounder, tuna, sea birds, whales, dolphins, and seals.

Longfin squid, the kind fished commercially and sold as “calamari,” move into shallow waters around Cape Cod and southern Gulf of Maine in spring with schools of butterfish, scup, and whiting. Longfin squid can grow up to two feet long, and they crush and eat food with bird-like beaks.

Shortfin or summer squid are used primarily for bait.

►Season

Year-round (inshore spring through early fall and offshore during the rest of the year).

►Status

Longfin squid is not overfished but the sustainability of the current fishing rate is unknown.
Shortfin squid status is unknown but overfishing is not thought to be occurring. Squid can handle relatively high fishing pressure because the entire population replaces itself about every six months.

►Regulatory Authority

Managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council as part of the Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish plan.

►Harvest Method

Small-mesh bottom trawls. Coastal pound nets and fish traps are used in spring and summer when the squid migrate inshore to spawn. This is primarily a southern New England fishery. See the vessel and gear guide for more information.

►Recreational Harvest

Try the gear known as a “squid rig.”

►Health Benefits & Risks

Squid are low-fat and low-calorie, and are an excellent source of selenium and vitamin B12 and contain a moderate amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Squid are short-lived and low in mercury.

►Buying & Preparing

Squid are usually sold gutted and cleaned, and may or may not have tentacles. For whole squid, see “How to clean a squid”, a video from Portland’s Harbor Fish Market for information on what to look for when buying and preparing fresh squid.

►Companies, Brands, and Labels

►Certifications & Verifications

►Links