The Peruvian oceanographic institute Imarpe has begun its first research cruise to estimate the biomass of the giant squid, the country's second -fish resource after anchovy.

The operation, which is carried out on board the vessels Jose Olaya Balandra and Humboldt, is expected to last 22 and 20 days, respectively.

The squid fishery is the second most important in the country, with the artisanal fleet capturing an average of 500,000 metric tons per year, according to the Peruvian minister of production, Pedro Olaechea.

Olaechea explained that the cruise, which will use the acoustic evaluation method, will be carried out between the northern area (north of Talara and south of Pimentel) and the southern area (between San Juan de Marcona and Ilo) of the Peruvian coast.

"The operation will also allow us to know the indices of abundance, the distribution and concentration of this species," Olaechea said.

Peruvian and Chilean fishing firms are planning to ask regional fisheries management organizations to commit to a new plan for management of the the giant squid fisheries in the Pacific Ocean international waters near their coasts, Undercurrent News reported earlier this year.

Managing the resources in those waters is needed to halt overfishing, which has already impacted negatively the resource, sources told Undercurrent.

Peruvian businesses that focus on the fishing and processing of giant squid have been hit hard by the lack of the resource in recent years, due to El Nino's impact and overfishing.