DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF THE FISHED POPULATION OF LOLIGO-FORBESIIN UK WATERS - ANALYSIS OF FISHERY DATA

UK fisheries for the squid Loligo forbesi are described, based mainly on analysis of fishery statistical data (1980-1990) held in the Scotti sh Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department (SOAFD) and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) databases, and synthesis of pu blished and unpublished information from various sources including int erviews with Scottish fishermen. The weight and value of squid landing s in the UK have increased substantially during the last decade, parti cularly in Scotland. While squid landed in Scotland are thought to con sist almost exclusively of Loligo forbesi, landings in England and Wal es may contain a significant proportion of Loligo vulgaris. Squid are landed primarily as a by catch of trawling and seining finfish fisheri es although some directed fishing takes place, particularly at Rockall . There is limited use of jigs, although most reported trials of jiggi ng gear have been unsuccessful. Squid are caught throughout UK waters, although the most important fishing areas vary from year to year. Sco ttish landings come from all around the coast of Scotland, particularl y the Moray Firth, as well as from Rockall and (historically) Faroe Ba nk. Landings from Rockall are apparently unpredictable, with large amo unts of squid being caught in 1986, 1987 and 1989 but almost none duri ng the rest of the decade. Squid landed in England and Wales are also taken from a wide area, including the English Channel, Celtic Sea, Roc kall, and (historically) the Bay of Biscay. Records of Scottish landin gs from 1904 suggest the existence of a 15 year cycle of abundance. Th e seasonal pattern of landings in Scotland shows a predictable seasona l pattern, with most landings from coastal waters occurring in October and November and most landings from Rockall in June and August. Resul ts of correlation analyses of landings, fishing effort and CPUE data a re generally consistent with a by-catch fishery on a patchily distribu ted resource, suggesting that CPUE is a reasonable index of abundance except for areas such as Rockall where there is a significant proporti on of directed fishing. UK squid stocks are currently neither assessed nor managed, and the status of squid as primarily a by-catch preclude s most management options. However, given the relatively high quality of data routinely collected, and assuming implementation of checks on species identification and compilation of data at least weekly, stock assessment should be possible.