October 26, 2021 — If Joe Mulkey could fish for market squid year-round, he would.
The emerging Oregon fishery ticks a lot of boxes for the commercial fisherman from Reedsport: the use of seine gear and electronics, and, of course, the recent profitability.
In the past five years, the market squid fishery has moved from almost nonexistent to booming. Now boats that would normally fish for squid in California’s Monterey Bay have headed north and Oregon fishermen are seeing new opportunities in local waters, hunting the small, short-lived animals.
Last year, the fishery saw the highest participation yet in Oregon and fishermen landed more than 10 million pounds. Before fishing took off in 2016, fishermen had only landed 4.5 million pounds in Oregon since 1980.
But as market squid surges forward, state fishery managers are rushing to catch up.
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