The Indian marine fisheries industry has little room for growth, with most coastal stocks fished to their maximum potential or overfished. The oceanic fish stocks are probably the only refuge for expanding the production base. One among the oceanic fish stocks of India with huge potential is the oceanic squid with a fishable potential of nearly 1.5 million tonnes from the Arabian Sea alone. The ommastrephid deep sea flying squid, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, is known as the master of the Arabian Sea, because of its high abundance, large size, short life-span, fast growth and near monopoly of the higher trophic niche.

To effectively tap this resource the World Bank through the National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) funded a major project (Rs. 5.4 crores) entitled ‘Utilization strategy for oceanic squids in the Arabian Sea: A value chain approach’ in 2009 during the XIth plan period. The project, in consortium mode, took a production to consumption approach and was led by the CMFRI, with NIFPHATT, FSI and CIFT as consortium partners.