Comments on: Giant Squid Found in Atlantic Ocean

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:33:47 +0000

By the way, was this squid alive when it was found? It is hard to tell from the article whether the fisherman found it alive or dead. If it was alive, then as Mnynames said it just seems unlikely to me that a giant squid would have come far enough up to the surface to be sucked into a ballast tank, then survived the journey, then made the trip in good enough condition to keep on living. Of course it could have been in bad shape from the ordeal if it was found close enough to the surface for a fisherman to find it, but I wonder just how plausible this scenario is.

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Wed, 02 May 2007 15:28:28 +0000

Youcantryreachingme- I don’t know much about boats and ballasts, but it seems to me that it is a big jump from mussels to a giant squid. Of course a corpse that somehow floated up from the squid’s deep sea habitat could be scooped up by a boat, but would a giant squid physically be able to get into a ballast that easily? This is not a mussel we are talking about or a small fish. It is a 14 foot long (if it still had its tentacles) squid! Is that feasible?

By: youcantryreachingme

youcantryreachingme — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 05:21:11 +0000

Ironically, I just received a news article talking exactly about ballast being the vehicle for invasive marine species. Apparently, although "recognized as an ongoing, world-wide problem", the phenomenon is not well studied with the green mussel being one exception. In addition, "biological fouling on boat bottoms" provides another "safe haven for marine invasive species".

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 04:25:41 +0000

That’d have to be one darned unlucky squid, then- Sucked into a ballast tank, living on scraps in total darkness for who knows how long, shot out into strange waters full of unknown dangers, then collected and killed!

I guess I’d prefer to think he was an unwary native…

By: youcantryreachingme

youcantryreachingme — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 03:48:01 +0000

fuzzy – I agree. And it may have entered a ship’s ballast as a juvenile, to be released on the other side, where it has since grown up only to be collected and examined.

Any number of possible explanations!

No less interesting

By: springheeledjack

springheeledjack — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 03:21:37 +0000

Also says a lot about how much we do not know about the ocean and its inhabitants…could be all kinds of things lurking below that we have no idea about…much bigger things that roam and are as yet undetected.

Got to like the squid population though…

By: MattBille

MattBille — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 14:43:24 +0000

The Newfoundland/Labrador squid were the giant squid Architeuthis. This is interesting, not just because it’s a fairly large squid, but because it’s so far from it’s only known habitat. It’s a good reminder of how much we still have to learn about marine life.

By: fuzzy

fuzzy — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 00:34:15 +0000

Could have come through the Panama Canal with a ship.

By: Atticus

Atticus — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 19:11:31 +0000

I agree with Mystery Man.

We don’t know much of these creatures and their habits.They may have a range entending farther than we initially thought.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 18:39:20 +0000

Because the linking of the North American and South American landmasses is a comparatively recent geological event, this little guy could represent a population of Pacific squid isolated by the event and maintaining themselves for several millennia. Seems more plausible than a wayward specimen or a much wider range. Just my 2 cents…