In Italy, we love squid, cuttlefish, prawns and octopus, but our seas do not provide enough to meet demand. The result? We import huge quantities. According to EUMOFA 2024 data, the cephalopod market (squid and octopus) is worth around 780 million euros in imports. Between January and September 2024 alone, we purchased over 34,000 tonnes of squid, mainly from India, Thailand and Argentina. And what about octopus? Morocco alone accounts for 45 per cent of what we eat, followedby Indonesia.
If, on the other hand, you find anchovies, sardines or pink prawns in your fried dish, then yes: they are much more likely to be home-grown. But when it comes to squid and octopus, the image of ‘locally caught’ is often a myth for which we pay dearly.
The real problem isn’t the frozen product itself – which can be excellent if it’s of good quality – but the lack of transparency. Many restaurants, especially tourist or seasonal ones, don’t prepare anything from scratch in the kitchen. They use industrial semi-prepared products: squid that’s already been cut, breaded and pre-fried. The chef simply has to take them out of the freezer and ‘reheat’ them in boiling oil. It’s quick, cheap and the result is always the same…
The ‘local’ section of the prawn and shellfish counter at the Gi.Mar. fishmonger’s in Biassono (MB) only stocks prawns from Mazara del Vallo; everything else comes from far afield and is defrosted, like the giant squid in the photo.
Written on 25 June, updated on 27 June 2026
