Challenges for assessment of cohabiting stocks of argentine shortfin squid using parasites as biological tags.

The Argentine shortfin squid is one of the most important commercial species for the Argentine fisheries. The understanding of its stock structure is therefore necessary to ensure fishery sustainability and, given the relevance of squids in the regional food web, for biodiversity conservation. An overlap between parasitology and fisheries lies in the use of parasites as biological tags to identify the stock composition of exploited resources, however, the efficiency of this methodology has been questioned for stock assessment in cephalopods.

Parasite assemblages in volatile host stocks: inter- and intra-cohort variability restrict their value as biological tags for squid stock assessment.

The Argentine shortfin squid, , inhabits in the southwest Atlantic; it is a semelparous species which grows rapidly along its 1 year lifespan. The identification of its stocks is critical for sustainable fishery exploitation. Parasites have been used as biological indicators in a lower number of studies dealing with squids, therefore a validation of this methodology is necessary.