Giant Squid caught in West Seattle

[PuyallupCoug]

Hmm, I never thought I'd see one of these around there. What would you do if you ran into one of these at depth? It would be a little unnerving in my opinion.

Giant squid caught in West Seattle | Top Stories | Seattle News, Local News, Breaking News, Weather | KING5.com

 

[PugetSounder]

NWGratefulDiver was there and took a picture of it.

 

[Thalassus]

Seems like a bit of a hoax to me.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

No hoax ... I was there ... as were several of my dive buddies.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Thalassus]

You saw it alive and swimming around, or you saw it dead on a hook? Reason I said hoax is because a few reports were saying it was dead when brought in, so I was thinking diver/fisher team prank...

 

[Drewpy]

It looks like its been dead for some time...

They have been quite common off the Nor Cal coast for the past few years..some commercial Party Boats even had some organized trips catching quite a few of them
outside the GG. From what I understand they are pretty tasty..but make a mess of the boat with the squirting ink and all? They use a large jig with numerous hooks attached.

Some in the science field think there is a direct correlation between them and the rockfish decline?

Dont beleive divers would have a chance of seeing them in Monterey..much to deep!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

You saw it alive and swimming around, or you saw it dead on a hook? Reason I said hoax is because a few reports were saying it was dead when brought in, so I was thinking diver/fisher team prank...

It was dead when I first saw it ... which was after the fisherman pulled it in toward the dock.

I can say conclusively there were no divers involved (that would've been obvious, considering it was a week-day and not that many people around ... and I knew all the divers who were at the site at the time).

I don't think it was a prank ... we sometimes get critters in Puget Sound that aren't supposed to be here. A couple years ago it was an electric ray. Before that, a mola mola. Heck, last year it was a Maine lobster ... although that one likely escaped from a local restaurant ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[BMW]

Heck, last year it was a Maine lobster ... although that one likely escaped from a local restaurant ...

I have heard (second or third-hand) that there was an attempt to introduce Atlantic lobsters in the PNW. In Vancouver BC there is a body of water called 'False Creek' and supposedly this is the only place in the PNW where they survived and prospered. I have also heard there are some bigguns down there....

Maybe there were other such attempts? Anyone know more?

 

[sunkmail]

I have heard (second or third-hand) that there was an attempt to introduce Atlantic lobsters in the PNW. In Vancouver BC there is a body of water called 'False Creek' and supposedly this is the only place in the PNW where they survived and prospered. I have also heard there are some bigguns down there....

Maybe there were other such attempts? Anyone know more?

This is the first I've ever heard of Lobsters being in False Creek, but then again, I don't know anyone that is trying to get them. Personally, I wouldn't want to eat anything that comes out of that area anyway ... It's not known for the highest refresh rate of the water, and there are lots of marinas in the area ... :yuck:
(Sometimes it's better not to know where your food comes from.)

Paste this into Google maps and you can see the layout:
False Creek, Vancouver, British Columbia

 

[BLT]

... we sometimes get critters in Puget Sound that aren't supposed to be here. A couple years ago it was an electric ray. Before that, a mola mola. Heck, last year it was a Maine lobster ... although that one likely escaped from a local restaurant ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

My oddball sighting was back around 1995 (?) seeing a Maine Lobster crawling around some of the concrete in the Edmonds Underwater park. My buddy and I got a good look at it, plus he was visiting here from the east coast for a NOAA dive class and was used to seeing lobsters in the wild back there.

Like Bob said, that one had probably been liberated from a restaurant or fish store and I never saw another one...