Giant Squid Caught Off Coast of Louisiana

[mrm777]

" The scientists were aboard the NOAA research vessel Gordon Gunter when the squid was caught in a trawl pulled behind the research vessel at a depth of more than 1,500 feet.
"As the trawl net rose out of the water, I could see that we had something big in there…really big,” said Anthony Martinez, marine mammal scientist for NOAA's Fisheries Service and chief scientist for this research cruise. "We knew there was a remote possibility of encountering a giant squid on this cruise, but it was not something we were realistically expecting.”
This giant squid was preserved and sent to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum for Natural History for further study. It measures just over 19½ feet long and weighs more than 103 pounds."
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Article & photos: Discovery News: Born Animal: Giant Squid "Size of SUV" Caught Off Coast of Louisiana

[WaScubaDude]

Originally Posted by mrm777

" The scientists were aboard the NOAA research vessel Gordon Gunter when the squid was caught in a trawl pulled behind the research vessel at a depth of more than 1,500 feet.
"As the trawl net rose out of the water, I could see that we had something big in there…really big,” said Anthony Martinez, marine mammal scientist for NOAA's Fisheries Service and chief scientist for this research cruise. "We knew there was a remote possibility of encountering a giant squid on this cruise, but it was not something we were realistically expecting.”
This giant squid was preserved and sent to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum for Natural History for further study. It measures just over 19½ feet long and weighs more than 103 pounds."
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Article & photos: Discovery News: Born Animal: Giant Squid "Size of SUV" Caught Off Coast of Louisiana

Wouldn't you think it would be way over 103lbs?

[Desert_Diver]

I read somewhere that giant squids would go after sperm whales (or vice versa). I expected something MUCH bigger. Or was this just a baby?

[RonFrank]

I think you guys are missing the big picture. This thing has 12+ foot tentacles, and eight of those. They likely don't weigh a lot, but they could rip one apart, and this thing was large.

Originally Posted by NOAA

Giant squid have been known to grow 40 feet long, and are extremely rare. Such a creature hasn't been spotted in the gulf in more than half a century.

Way cool, but too bad they kilt the damn thing! Boy, it is ugly.

[baywatch106]

That's not the Kracken.

[Sansho]

Our tax dollars at work.

[mrm777]

The weight of the squid killed it upon being raised to the service.

[Sansho]

The weight of the squid killed it upon being raised to the service.

How about decompression illness coming from >1500' to the surface?

[Sansho]

The weight of the squid killed it upon being raised to the service.

How about a squid version of decompression illness coming from 1500' to the surface?

[navyhmc]

Originally Posted by Sansho

How about a squid version of decompression illness coming from 1500' to the surface?

Nah, squid deco is a slow ascent.

Actually, as I recall from my HS biology, squid normally ascend from 1500' to the surface to feed at night so I don't think they have a deco schedule. No swimming bladder either.

19.5' and 103 lbs? It was a little one.