Gould’s Squid
Nototodarus gouldi (Gould’s Squid, Red Arrow Squid)
2021/22 Gould's Squid Status (Released March 24)
| Stock Status | SUSTAINABLE | ||
| Summary | Gould’s Squid is a predominantly Commonwealth-managed species that has been classified as “Not overfished nor subject to overfishing” by ABARES in the Fishery Status Reports 2021 (Patterson et al. 2021). Dual-licensed vessels fish for this species in Tasmanian waters, especially in years of peak abundance. Gould’s Squid is characterised by high inter-annual variability in abundance in state waters resulting in periodically high catches compared to other scalefish species. | ||
| Importance | Minor | ||
| Stock | Tasmanian Scalefish Fishery and Southern Squid-jig Fishery (Commonwealth) | ||
| Indicator(s) | Catch, effort and CPUE trends | ||
| Managing Jurisdiction | Commonwealth | ||
Background
Gould’s Squid is targeted by the Commonwealth Southern Squid-Jig Fishery, a single gear, single species fishery that operates in Bass Strait waters using automatic squid jig gear. Like most cephalopod species, Gould’s Squid has a very brief life cycle, is semelparous (reproduces once before death), and can vary significantly in abundance among years, presumably depending on environmental conditions. Occasionally, Gould’s Squid are available in high abundance in south-eastern Tasmanian waters, however there is limited local market demand for the commercial fishery. Consequently, dual-licensed fishing vessels tend to operate in state waters during summer before moving back to Commonwealth fishing grounds in Bass Strait. There is a substantial recreational fishery for Gould’s Squid in Tasmania, but recreational catches are dwarfed by those of the commercial sector in years of significant effort.
The full 2020/21 Scalefish Assessment, released Dec 2022, can be found at the link:
Learn more about what each stock status classification means on our Stock Status Classifications Information Page:
Social and Economic Indicators