Low Demand, Falling Prices the Catch for Squid Fishers

A slumping Asian economy has sent squid prices falling to near-record lows, prompting some Ventura County squid fishers to back off from the harvest for now.

Squid, which sold for as much as $800 a ton at its peak, is now selling between $200 and $300 a ton--if fishermen can find a buyer at all. Although prices have tumbled in the past, some fishermen here and around the state complain that current prices do not reflect demand for the product.

“It’s not that it’s a bad price, but there’s no balance to it and that has got people upset,” said Neil Guglielmo, a local squid netter who has since turned to fishing anchovies. “They want a better price.”

Ventura County has had no squid landings since the first week of July, state records show, even though there have been some small runs off the Channel Islands.

Although some fishermen blame the buyers for the problem, it actually has more to do with a dip in demand by Asian markets. A large portion of the state’s squid harvest is shipped overseas to markets in China, Japan and South Korea.

Demand in those countries helped the state’s squid fleet reap huge profits in the 1996-1997 season, when more than 8,000 tons were netted. However, the economy in Japan and South Korea has been in recession, making squid too expensive for consumers.

Meanwhile, the Chinese market has also dwindled as that country toughened import regulations and expanded its own squid fisheries.

Although some fishermen have called the stoppage a strike, it does not appear to be an organized effort. It is rather a general understanding among most fishermen that they will not fish squid until prices firm up.

However, some fishermen are still dropping nets out of San Pedro and Monterey, and few think the stoppage will last through October, when schools of squid begin to mass off the coast.

“As soon as there’s some money to be made, you can bet that everybody’s going to be out there,” said Mike McLenaghan, a Seattle resident who fishes off the Ventura County coast.

A number of fishermen are worried about what will happen when the new harvest begins in October. Despite the low prices for squid, Guglielmo said he anticipates that the coming season will bring an almost record number of fishermen to Ventura County.

All the commercial vessel slips at Ventura Harbor are rented, and there is concern that if prices and demand remain at current levels, those fishermen will get an even smaller slice of the pie.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what happens,” Guglielmo said. “It looks like it’s going to be a pretty good year as far as the squid are concerned, but that’s not going to matter if there’s no market for them.”