Dosidicus gigas

Mainland China origin distant-water jiggers operating in international waters under SPRFMO Vessel List authorisation and flag-state reporting. The fleet works two structurally distinct zones producing two structurally distinct raw material categories:

Peru High Seas — component supply. The adult-cohort fishing ground in international waters off Peru produces the large-sized cohort under the Keyl et al. 2008 framework — mature animals reaching 1,000–1,200mm and often 4–5kg+ whole weight. The animal is too large to sea-freeze whole, so vessels divide each catch into Wings, Tentacles (3-OFF — Neck, Eyes, Beak OFF — also known in the trade as Dirty Tentacles), and Skin-ON Fillets, and sea-freeze each component separately at vessel.

Eastern Equatorial Pacific High Seas — whole round. The high-seas fishing ground outside the Ecuadorian and northern Peruvian EEZs produces the small-sized cohort — "baby giant squid", mature at 130–340mm — small enough to sea-freeze as Whole Round. Sized 300–500g through 2–4kg.

Mainland China origin sea-frozen Gigas distributes globally — across East Asia, EU, North America, Latin America, MENA, and the CIS. The two raw material categories serve different downstream uses: the component supply feeds both direct-retail and further-processing channels (including our own BXGC and BXTW lines); the equatorial whole round serves whole-fish presentation, further cutting, and processed-food production.

Peruvian and Chilean partner-plant Gigas raw material — sourced from local artisanal and coastal fleets operating within their respective EEZs, processed at partner plants, and traded by Baixian Trade as semi-finished raw material. Distinguished from Mainland China sea-frozen output by two operationally consequential cut-state differences:

Skin-OFF Fillets. Sea-frozen fillets retain the skin because skin removal is impractical at vessel; partner-plant fillets can be produced Skin-OFF, which serves retail and downstream processing channels.

5-OFF Cleaned Tentacles. Sea-frozen tentacles typically reach 3-OFF (Neck/Eyes/Beak OFF). The additional cleaning steps — Sexual Tentacles OFF, Nails-OFF, and Suckers-OFF — require the labour and water capacity that only partner plants can provide. The 5-OFF product is the cleanest tentacle form Gigas reaches in the international market.

The Peruvian fishery is the second-most-important fishery in Peru after anchoveta, with the 2024 PRODUCE quota set at 499,683 MT. Peruvian and Chilean origin landfrozen Gigas primarily serves East Asian buyers for both direct retail/foodservice and as raw material for our own downstream BXGC processing line. Baixian Trade also distributes Peru/Chile origin raw material via third-party trade to Southeast Asia, the CIS, and select other global destinations through our trade desk.

Mainland China sea-frozen and Peru/Chile partner-plant Gigas raw material — landed at BXTW-FAC-1 (Kaohsiung Qianzhen) for landfrozen value-added processing into Calamari Steak (also known in the US trade as Giant Squid Steak) — the standard US trade naming convention used by major US foodservice distributors. The product is a precision-cut rectangular piece sized to North American foodservice convention.

Cut specification: Length 9–11cm × Width 7–9cm × Thickness 1.3–1.8cm. Two size grades: 4–5 OZ (112–140g/pc) and 5–6 OZ (141–160g/pc). Available in regular and trimmed-edge variants.

Three pack formats reflect different US foodservice distribution channels — 36LB (6LB×6/carton) for retail-club and high-volume foodservice, 30LB (6LB×5/carton) for foodservice distribution, and 10KG (1kg×10/carton) blank-bag for re-packing distributors. All pack formats are customisable per buyer specification — bag/carton size, glazing percentage, and net weight adjusted at the inquiry stage.

The product targets primarily North American foodservice — US and Canada — with the OZ-based sizing convention and rectangular cut serving the US retail-foodservice channel directly. Chain-restaurant calamari programmes and foodservice distributors are the primary buyers.

Peru- and Chile-origin Gigas raw material — supplemented by Mainland China equatorial whole-round for select SKUs — landed at BXGC-FAC-3 (Fuzhou Mawei) for landfrozen value-added processing on our in-house Gigas processing line. The plant carries the most extensive Gigas processing range we operate, structured around several form families: Cleaned Tubes (Tip-ON and Tip-OFF variants with multiple net-weight and glaze tiers), Rings, Carved Squid (treatment variants), whole-round derived Dirty Tube Cut-Open and Tentacles forms, Skin-OFF Fillets, Crispy Tentacles, and a Specialty Cuts range covering Tentacles, Wings, Wheel-roll Squid, Paper-thin Squid, and Hot-pot Squid.

Carved Squid — also known in the trade as flower-cut or pineapple-cut squid — is one of our signature specialties. The product is pattern-cut on the surface to produce the characteristic carved presentation, then offered in three treatment variants (low, medium, high) for downstream channel-fit, plus an unblanched medium variant. Standard cut is 4 × (3–6)cm; IQF pack.

Whole-round derived forms — Dirty Tube Cut-Open and matched Tentacles — use Mainland China equatorial whole-round raw and are produced in either EU-treated or non-treated variants depending on buyer preference. The "Indian Ocean" equivalent uses Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis raw rather than Dosidicus gigas and is documented separately on the Sthenoteuthis species page (Phase 2).

The line serves global markets, with depth in East Asian processed-food channels (hot-pot, retail-pack ready-to-eat, and downstream further-processing) and our trade desk extending to Southeast Asia, the CIS, and select other destinations.