{"id":258,"date":"2026-03-06T11:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gov.fk\/fisheries\/?page_id=258"},"modified":"2026-03-06T11:00:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T11:00:44","slug":"illex-squid","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gov.fk\/fisheries\/overview\/commercial-species\/illex-squid\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentine Shortfin Squid (Illex) – ILL"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Home<\/a><\/span> \u00bb Overview<\/a><\/span> \u00bb Commercial Species<\/a><\/span> \u00bb Argentine Shortfin Squid (Illex) – ILL<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Argentine Shortfin Squid (Illex) – ILL<\/h1>\n\n\n
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Common Names<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Illex, Argentine shortfin squid (UK), Pota (SP), Kalmary Illex (PD), Matsuika (JA)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientific Name<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Illex argentinus<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Description<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mantle long, cylindrical and muscular, widest at midpoint. Fins triangular, muscular, relatively short and broad (length 42% of mantle length, width 57% of mantle length). Fin angle broad, 47 to 52\u00b0. Arms very long, averaging up to 72% of mantle length for arms III in males; all arms of males significantly longer than in females. In mature males, left or right arm IV has suckers modified into suckerless knobs along more than 50% of its length (modification for transferring spermatophores to the female). No hooks on arms, suckers in two rows, sucker rings with several teeth. Colour orange to reddish-brown, darker along dorsal midline of mantle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Size Range<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

18 to 50 cm mantle length when caught in the FICZ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depth Range<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Found at depths from 30 to 200 m, with fishing occurring at less than 180 m.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distribution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the western South Atlantic, approximately 30\u00b0S to 54\u00b0S, and west of 55\u00b0W.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fishery Status<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Between 1987 and 1992, this fishery brought in 75 to 85% of the fishery revenue to the Islands. Mainly fished for by jiggers from Taiwan, Korea and Japan, with the fishing season in the FICZ from March to May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Illex stock migrates south and east into the FICZ from late January onwards, and migrates north and west out of the Zone in May and June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Illex<\/a><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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For more information, please contact
the Fisheries Department<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll find our office hours, location, and full contact details below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Contact us<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Common Names Illex, Argentine shortfin squid (UK), Pota (SP), Kalmary Illex (PD), Matsuika (JA) Scientific Name Illex argentinus Description Mantle…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":240,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-258","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIllex Squid Commercial Species - Falkland Islands<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Overview of the Argentine shortfin squid (Illex argentinus) fishery and its role in the Falkland Islands commercial fishing industry.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.fk\/fisheries\/overview\/commercial-species\/illex-squid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illex Squid Commercial Species - 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