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."
Seattle Times/AP 16.Oct.04
