The California Squid
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 8:37AM The California Squid (Loligo Opalescens) is a small squid (mantle length ML up to 160 mm). It is a Myopsid squid, and that means that they have corneas over their eyes. They are found in large numbers around the Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, and California. In the Northern Pacific, squid have been identified from the North Pacific starting at the Bering Sea all the day to the Sea of Japan. They typically live within 200 miles of the coast and generally feed off the bottom of the ocean. The life cycle of a Loligo Opalescens has four stages, eggs, hatchlings, juveniles, and adults and these squid can live for 4-9 months.
Did you also know that California's squid fishery is the largest in the U.S. In 1996, fishermen caught a record 177 million pounds of pearlescent market squid, valued at $33.3 million?
Photo Credit: NOAA