Inadequate management for high seas squid fisheries has become a pressing concern as fishing effort has increased rapidly in the last decade, reflecting symptomatic challenges of international ocean governance. This article reviews the legal framework regulating high seas squid fisheries, including regional measures, and finds some progress toward effective management in the Pacific but little in the Southwest Atlantic and Northern Indian oceans. It outlines global and regional options to address these regulatory gaps, improve management and achieve sustainability for this relevant and growing global fishery.