Loligo piscatorum; Print; Illex illecebrosus; commonly known as the northern shortfin squid; is a species of neritic squids in the family Ommastrephidae. They are found in the northwest Atlantic Ocean; from off the coast of eastern North America to Greenland; Iceland; and west of Ireland and the United Kingdom. They are a highly migratory and short-lived species; with lifespans of less than a year. They are commercially important and are fished extensively (primarily by the United States and Canada); mostly for the Canadian and Japanese markets. Northern shortfin squid is a migratory species of squid with a distribution ranging from Florida Straits to Newfoundland in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. The species is native to Canada; Greenland; Iceland and United States. The species has an average lifespan between 1-1.5 years in which most live less than a year. The location of the fishery of the squid is mainly in Mid-Atlantic Bight from between summer and fall.