Flying squid found for first time in Far North
SITKA, Alaska — A large Humboldt squid caught offshore
from Sitka is among numerous sightings of a species seen
for the first time in waters of the Far North, and the first
of the species recovered from British Columbia waters.
The 5-foot Dosidicus gigas, or jumbo flying squid,
was shipped this week to California
to be kept for research at the
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
The squid was one of a number caught with a dip net
by fisherman Alan Otness and his crew on Sept. 18 as
they baited longline gear at night. They brought
back some of the creatures for examination by experts.
Eric Hochberg, curator of the Santa Barbara museum,
said the species is usually found off
Mexico's Baja California peninsula, and farther south.
The farthest north the species has been reported until
this year was off the Oregon coast in 1997, said
James Cosgrove, manager of natural history at the
Royal British Columbia Museum. Before that year,
the farthest north it was seen was near San Francisco, he said.
Until this summer, there have been no other
sightings in the north, Cosgrove said.
"It's unprecedented. It speaks of a
fundamental change in the ocean along the coast."
The museum is keeping a 6-1/2-foot,
44-pound Dosidicus gigas in a tank.
The purple-bodied cephalopod with eight sucker-covered
arms and two curly tentacles was caught Oct. 2.
Since news of that discovery was made public,
Cosgrove has received seven reports of sightings
since late July of jumbo squid in
Northwest waters from Oregon to Alaska.
"We'll try to get a handle on are they
moving north with warmer waters,
and then do they die out as they head north,
or does the cold water constrain
their northward movement?" Hochberg said