| OCTOPUS | SHRIMP | SQUID |
| SHELLFISH | FIN FISH | FILLETS/LOINS |
| SPECIALTY ITEMS |
'SANFORD' NEW ZEALAND
WHOLE ARROW SQUID
New Zealand Arrow Squid is Nototodarus sloanii.
Arrow squid in New Zealand is fished on a quota system that is year round. However the vast majority of the catch is caught and frozen at sea by large processor boats in February and March of each year. Some product is caught and frozen at land-based plants later in the year as long as quotas remain unfilled and boats are specifically targeted to the species. Often supplies of whole arrow are not available from about August through February.
Almost all New Zealand Arrow Squid is exported in the whole (head-on guts in) form. Further processing of whole arrow squid has frequently been done in Taiwan, Korea and China but New Zealand labor costs typically make New Zealand further processed Arrow Squid products non-competitive in the world market.
Sizing typically will run 100-200 gram, 200-300 gram, 300-400 gram, 400-600 gram and 600 gram up. Most Union Fish Company imports are in the two larger sizes but the smaller sizes are often available on a special order basis.
The most common land packed product is a 10 kg block in a cardboard carton. The packer will occasionally also have 5 kg blocks in cardboard cartons. Sea-frozen blocks are typically 12, 13, or 15 kg blocks. These will be often sold in paper bags, sometimes not bagged but simply plastic wrapped or be put into cartons, often two blocks per master case.
Many customers prefer land frozen pack. The freshness of the land frozen is usually very good. Typically the squid are hand layered more carefully and more ink is usually rinsed from the land frozen as well. The 10 kg carton is easier to handle than the bagged product or the large two block cases.
Arrow squid often is sold against cheaper Illex from South America.
There is little comparison between the two as the texture and taste of
the Arrow is vastly superior to Illex. In the raw state, arrow
squid meat is pure white in color while Illex squid meat color has a
yellow-brownish tint. Chemical processing and mechanical
tenderizing of Illex has made it closer to Arrow in characteristics on
further processed items. But on whole unprocessed product the
difference is still substantial.