Updates On Exploratory Fishing For Oceanic Squid
June Research Trip
July 9, 2026
Earlier this month, our team headed out to sea for another trip in our exploratory squid fishing research in the Northwest Atlantic.
The most abundant species caught was the Northern shortfin squid, Illex illecebrosus, which could support a high-volume fishery in the Northwest Atlantic and is ecologically important forage supporting many species. Although this species occupies waters greater than 1,000 m, little information is collected on the oceanic component of the stock which lies beyond 200 m depth, making stock assessment difficult. On this survey, Illex were abundant in waters with depths of 1,000 m along Washington Canyon east of Maryland, northward to Veatch Canyon, east of Nantucket.
Although less abundant than previously found in the autumn, neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii) were caught in waters east of Veatch Canyon which recently received a Gulf Stream eddy. Those caught were of a small size class suggesting that this species recruits to shelf-edge waters from the Gulf Stream.
See the Squid Jigging in Action