Giant Squid Eat Calfornia Swimmers!
That looks like the type of headline you'd see in the National Inquirer, doesn't it? We'd like to point out that it is absolutely true. Huge squid are rampaging around in the waters off the California coast, dining on swimmers. Oh, the swimmers are fish - for now. But it's only a matter of time.
MONTEREY, Calif. - Jumbo squid that can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh more than 110 pounds are invading central California waters and preying on local anchovy, hake and other commercial fish populations, according to a study published Tuesday.
An aggressive predator, the Humboldt squid — or Dosidicus gigas — can change its eating habits to consume the food supply favored by tuna and sharks, its closest competitors, according to an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
"Having a new, voracious predator set up shop here in California may be yet another thing for fishermen to compete with," said the study's co-author, Stanford University researcher Louis Zeidberg. "That said, if a squid saw a human they would jet the other way."
The jumbo squid used to be found only in the Pacific Ocean's warmest stretches near the equator. In the last 16 years, it has expanded its territory throughout California waters, and squid have even been found in the icy waters off Alaska, Zeidberg said.
Zeidberg's co-author, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute senior scientist Bruce Robison, first spotted the jumbo squid here in 1997, when one swam past the lens of a camera mounted on a submersible thousands of feet below the ocean's surface.
More were observed through 1999, but the squid weren't seen again locally until the fall of 2002. Since their return, scientists have noted a corresponding drop in the population of Pacific hake, a whitefish the squid feeds on that is often used in fish sticks, Zeidberg said.
Oh sure, the squid would jet the other way if it saw a human. But only to get a few buddies to come help with the bigger catch. How do we know that squids will eat humans? Easy, we have proof:
The Animal Uprising™ awaits offshore in California.
By feeblemind, Wednesday, 25 July , 2007 @ 8:27 am
Years ago, when I first heard of the Giant Squids. Jules Verne’s Nautilus and Captain Nemo were the first things that sprang to mind.
By Lars Walker, Wednesday, 25 July , 2007 @ 8:35 am
In a world of sensational tabloid journalism, thank heavens we have Blue Crab Boulevard to provide reasoned, balanced reporting on the really vital issues of the day.
By Gaius, Wednesday, 25 July , 2007 @ 8:40 am
Aw, shucks. Just trying to elevate the discourse.
By Purple Avenger, Wednesday, 25 July , 2007 @ 7:46 pm
If they get too uppity we can always spike this by mandating calamari on every menu