100 Things You Will Never Do by Daniel Smith

Author:Daniel Smith [Smith, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Quercus Publishing
Published: 2013-08-18T16:00:00+00:00

52 Capture a giant squid

WHAT IT IS A veritable monster from below the waves

WHY YOU WON’T DO IT For something so large, they are great at keeping a low profile

Giant squid first crop up in the writings of the ancient Greek Aristotle, and are believed to have inspired the kraken, the fearsome sea monster of Norse mythology. They have enchanted the minds of writers ever since, terrorizing sailors in Moby Dick and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea – but no one has yet managed to snare a live one.

If you encounter the giant squid (Latin name: Architeuthis dux) at close quarters, you’ll have little problem recognizing it. Specimens measure up to 13 metres (43 ft) from caudal fin to tentacle tip, and weigh up to several hundred kilograms. By the mid-2000s there were some 600 preserved specimens in institutions around the world.

The squid has some of the hugest eyes in the natural world, measuring 30 centimetres (12 in) across, to absorb the little light available in the depths of the ocean. Their strong, beak-like mouths can sever through metal cables, while suckers on their tentacles snare prey and pull it to its doom.

So why are these awesome invertebrates so elusive? The reason is that they spend virtually all of their lives in the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean, at depths between 300 and 1,000 metres (1,000–3,300 ft). There are thought to be sizeable populations in all the world’s oceans. In the 19th century, particularly large numbers of squid were washed ashore around Newfoundland and New Zealand. Fairly regular sightings continue in both of these locations, as well as around the coast of Australia, the northern British Isles, Japan, Norway, Spain and Southern Africa. If you’re determined to land yourself one, your geographical location is among the least of your problems.

Some would suggest that your best bet is to find a nice spot on a beach in one of the areas above and wait for the tide to bring a carcass ashore. This method, however, demonstrates a singular lack of spirit. Furthermore, washed-up specimens are usually in a pretty unpleasant state.

So assuming you want to catch a live one, you might attract its attention of by sailing around in a tanker. It’s not known whether the squid mistakes tankers for an enemy or a potential supper dish, but there are records of one Norwegian tanker that was attacked on three separate occasions in the 1930s.

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