Jumbo flying squid from Peru, one of the coastal countries, along with Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico, that participate in this Pacific fishery.
Photo: Produce.
International buyers of jumbo flying squid (Dosidicus gigas) expect greater traceability, compliance, and environmental and social responsibility throughout the supply chain, and therefore demand greater coordination among the coastal countries involved in this Pacific fishery.
The call was made during the recent Conxemar 2025 trade fair in Vigo, Spain, where the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and the NGO Pesca Sustentable brought together industry leaders, representatives of the European market, and delegates from producing countries in the panel, 'Jumbo Squid: Science, Management, and Markets' to analyze the state of the resource and its impacts on the market.
At this panel discussion, held on October 8 as part of Conxemar 2025, three key points were highlighted: the need for regional cooperation, growing market uncertainty caused by supply fluctuations, and increased demand for traceability and responsible production throughout the value chain.
In it, the organizers urged producing countries to act immediately to strengthen coordination within the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) with regionally aligned stock assessments and management measures; promote public-private traceability and transparency initiatives; improve real-time data sharing to support business planning and adaptive management; and adopt an ecosystem-based management approach that considers trophic interactions, habits, and impact mitigation.
As SFP highlighted in its note on the conclusions reached during that meeting, although jumbo flying squid —or jumbo squid—is the world's largest cephalopod fishery in terms of volume, it currently faces environmental variability, limited regional stock data, and a lack of coordinated management among producing countries.
These issues, SFP highlighted, create commercial uncertainty, particularly in Europe—the main destination market—where declining yields and recent fishing bans have raised concerns.
Therefore, panel participants agreed that stabilizing supply requires stronger cooperation within the SPRFMO, harmonized measures, and improved scientific data.
"Jumbo flying squid is a key resource for Spain and Europe. The EU's new traceability requirements aim to ensure a stable supply and better management," said Yobana Bermúdez, General Director of Conxemar, which, in addition to giving its name to the fair, is the Spanish Association of Wholesalers, Importers, Exporters, and Processors of Fishery and Aquaculture Products.
"Coastal States must coordinate to guarantee transparency and supply stability, facilitating access to European markets under strict HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) standards," she added.
"Chile and Peru have made significant progress, but without a stronger regional response within SPRFMO, the risk remains," stated, for his part, Alfonso Miranda, President of the Committee for the Sustainable Management of the Jumbo Flying Squid (CALAMASUR), a group comprised of leading industry players from Chile, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru.
"Coordination among countries to improve stock assessment and adopt compatible management rules is indispensable. The market should drive these improvements by conditioning access on traceability and the fight against IUU fishing," Miranda continued.
For her part, Sindy Parraguez, from Matsuoka Co., Ltd., a Japanese company that imports fresh seafood from around the world and operates frozen and refrigerated product distribution centers throughout Japan, spoke directly about the situation in Peru.
"Instability in Peru directly affected our planning. Reliable information—like Chile's catch data—is vital for strategy and client communication. Traceability and consistent reporting are now competitive advantages," she said.
The instability in Peru referred to by Matsuoka's representative has been and continues to be one of the concerns of Peru's Ministry of Production (Produce) during 2025. In March, Peru approved a new Fisheries Management Regulations for Jumbo Flying Squid, which it subsequently reinforced with new measures to further strengthen the protection of this species, manage its exploitation, improve its traceability, and ensure compliance with international standards, while ensuring its sustainability.
Jumbo squid catches in Peru fell significantly in 2024, an event that, based on data from the Peruvian Institute of the Sea (Imarpe), Produce attributed exclusively to the El Niño phenomenon, ruling out the possible impact of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) on the reduced availability of this resource last year.
In contrast, this year, the problems have arisen for the opposite reason. The abundance of jumbo squid off the Peruvian coast during the summer meant that the artisanal fishing fleet very quickly reached the quota that Produce had set for the sake of sustainability.
This led the Ministry to continuously open and close the fishing season and make constant changes to the total allowable catch quota, which not only increased the instability mentioned by Sindy Parraguez but also caused discontent among fishermen, leading them to stage a protest that was finally resolved with a series of agreements reached in early October.
These agreements included an increase in this year's quota, but also a scientific expedition—'Operation Jumbo Flying Squid IV' —which is taking place this week and in which, under the leadership of Imarpe, twenty-five artisanal fishing vessels are also participating. In addition, the Peruvian government also committed to the permanent monitoring of foreign vessels to prevent illegal fishing within 200 miles of Peruvian waters.
While this was happening in Peru, in Chile, driven by the NGO Pesca Sustentable (Sustainable Fishing), the Chilean Alliance for the Sustainability of Artisanal Jumbo Squid was born this summer, bringing together representatives from across the value chain of the also known as Humboldt squid.
Precisely, the Alliance took advantage of the showcase offered by Conxemar 2025 and the panel 'Jumbo Squid: Science, Management, and Markets' to present the progress of its Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP), which was attended by Chile's Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Julio Salas; the Chief of Staff of the Undersecretary of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Javier Rivera, and the National Director of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service, María Soledad Tapia.
"The presence of national authorities at this event was essential. Their support gives strength and visibility to this process, showing that the sustainability of jumbo squid is a task shared by the entire value chain, including fishermen, processing plants, exporters, scientists, and public institutions," said Gonzalo Araya, Director of Market Relations at the NGO Pesca Sustentable.
As mentioned above, the conclusion reached by the panel participants was that expanding digital traceability, legal origin controls, and standardized reporting will help reduce uncertainty and maintain market confidence.
"Maintaining stable jumbo squid supply will depend on swift progress in management, traceability, and cooperation. Without firm commitment, the fishery risks decline that could affect the entire value chain," the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership concluded.