[NEWS] Humboldt Squid mass stranding in California

... don't touch? That sounds a bit rough. If anyone is down that way and wants to grab a couple, wrap them up real good and tight, and put them in a freezer it would be mighty appreciated. I can find a way to get them to NZ.

Diseases? Hmmmmmm. Contaminated with DNA no doubt.
 
050120squid.jpg
 
I wish I'd heard about this yesterday; I'm calling the Newport Beach lifeguard in the morning to see if they've cleared the beach yet, then at least taking some photos. I doubt I'll be able to preserve any - our freezer is small and very unreliable - but I can find-out if any extras are headed up the coast to Santa Barbara. I'm sure Dr. Hochberg is probably thrilled. This happens periodically along our shores with Dosidicus - there was a mass stranding in La Jolla last year, as well as an identical event on the same beach 100 years earlier. If the surf is high and the bait-fish are in the shallows, these guys tend to get tumbled. The weird part is the fact that eyewitnesses report the squid making strange "dolphin-like" sounds as they die. Odd clicks and whistles. Has anybody out there ever heard anything remotely like this? :squid:
 
erich orser said:
I doubt I'll be able to preserve any - our freezer is small and very unreliable - but I can find-out if any extras are headed up the coast to Santa Barbara.
A few beaks and some length/weight data would be very sweet :wink:

TPOTH
 
Yeah, I saw this on TV this morning. According to DailyPlanet, a reputable show on the Discovery Channel, 1500 squids have washed ashore/beached themselves on the Californian coast. They have been termed "giant" squid, but never in reference to the actual species. They are averaging 2 metres in length, and around 7 kilos. Pretty Neat!
 
Saw this on the news......just made my fingers itch to get out there with my measuring board and my statolith gear........and my beak storage canisters ........and .......and........!

OOOOOOOOOOH the frustration!

J
 
Wow...

I really have not heard much about mass strandings in squid.

Don't laugh yet.

The only squid I can remember stranding is the humbolt squid. (dosidicus gigas, right?) Why that particular squid?



Squidman :confused:
 
I did call the Newport Beach lifeguards the next morning and was told that it was too late; in fact, by the time I saw this posted on tonmo.com, the city had already cleared them all off the beach. A few went up to Santa Barbara, though, and I should be able to get info from them to pass along regarding size, weight, beaks, etc.

:sad:
 
Oh yeah,

The operator for the fire/lifeguards told me the seabirds were getting out of hand, the squid were starting to get rather ripe, and a woman complained that she had witnessed a little boy trying to wear one on his head like a hat. Wouldn't those suckers be a little painful?
 
erich orser said:
... and a woman complained that she had witnessed a little boy trying to wear one on his head like a hat. Wouldn't those suckers be a little painful?

Kids can't be kids anymore I guess.
I bet he turns out to be a Ceph fan though, anyone willing to shove a big, many armed, rotting thing on their head is bound to be a fan when they grow up.
 

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