Squid

Although it’s the second most widely consumed shellfish in the world, squid is still a relative newcomer to American seafood cuisine. Still, squid is definitely catching on. Since 1990, U.S. squid imports have soared from 13,000 metric tons to more than 40,000 tons. But since the name squid still makes people squeamish, we prefer to call it calamari—the Italian name for squid.
More than 2 million metric tons of squid are landed throughout the world. Although almost a hundred species of squid are fished commercially, two species, the Japanese flying squid and the Argentine shortfin squid, account for over half the world harvest. Squid are molluscs, just like clams, mussels and oysters. The difference is squid have an internal shell, which is called a pen. Voracious feeders, squid eat up to 14% of their body weight a day in small fish and other squid.