On July 27–28, the Second International Symposium on Squid Resource Conservation and Management was held in Shanghai. Focusing on the challenges and opportunities facing the sustainable development of squid resources, the symposium conducted in-depth discussion and exchange on such topics as scientific stock assessment, compliance supervision of distant-water operations, upgrading of the entire industrial chain, and the trade and distribution of aquatic products. Government officials, experts and scholars, and industry representatives from Chile, Peru, Australia and other countries attended the meeting and delivered keynote presentations.
The meeting noted that squid is one of the world's important marine fishery resources, and that sound scientific conservation of squid resources is of great significance to promoting the healthy development of the industry, maintaining the marine ecological balance, growing the blue economy and enriching the global supply of aquatic products. The international community should strengthen communication and coordination, foster a sound development paradigm of joint conservation of squid resources, jointly established rules, shared industrial prosperity and shared benefits, and continuously enhance the effectiveness of squid fisheries governance.
The meeting reviewed the current state of development across the entire global squid industry chain — fishing, management, distribution, processing and trade. Participating representatives unanimously agreed that all parties should uphold the concept of responsible fisheries development, empower resource conservation through scientific assessment, regulate production order through refined management and control, energize trade through industrial upgrading, continuously deepen international scientific research cooperation, actively engage in regional fisheries governance, and jointly promote the green, well-regulated and sustainable development of the squid industry.
At the meeting, the Chinese representative presented China's achievements in the distant-water squid industry: conducting long-term surveys and dynamic assessment of squid resources and routinely implementing voluntary fishing moratorium measures on the high seas to intensify resource conservation; improving the full-chain supervision mechanism for distant-water fishing vessels to strictly regulate the production order of distant-water fisheries; continuously improving the squid deep-processing system and keeping cross-border trade channels open; and steadily optimizing supporting systems for distant-water fishing crews in areas such as operational safety, medical care and living services, thereby consolidating the foundation of industrial development on all fronts. This series of development achievements was positively received by the representatives of the participating countries.
The International Symposium on Squid Resource Conservation and Management was initiated and founded by Shanghai Ocean University in 2025. As an international exchange platform focused on the governance of squid fishery resources, it has effectively advanced multilateral governance collaboration and coordinated industrial development of the global squid fishery. The symposium has drawn wide attention from countries around the world, regional fisheries management organizations, non-governmental organizations, and relevant experts, scholars and practitioners, fully demonstrating China's responsibility as a major country in actively participating in global ocean governance, proactively conducting cooperation on fishery resource conservation, and promoting the sustainable development of distant-water fisheries.