Squid find a first for fisherman
The Marlborough Express
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Retired whaler Ted Perano had to do a double take to identify the carcass of a giant squid washed up on the beach at Port Underwood.
The squid was about three metres long, but Mr Perano said it would have been four metres before it lost some tentacles.
A usual day fishing sees Mr Perano come home with a few butterfish or a small feed of paua.
The squid was a great surprise.
"I never thought I'd see one of those in my lifetime," said Mr Perano.
Relatively speaking his find was not so big.
In New Zealand female giant squid can grow up to 13 metres and weigh up to 275 kilograms.
The male can grow to about 10 metres and total weight of 150kg in space of one to one and a half years.
Mr Perano said squid were usually only found in deep waters.
He left the carcass on the beach, taking only its beak, and alerted the Department of Conservation.
He thinks Te Papa may be interested in the beak.
Steve O'Shea, the director of Auckland University of Technology Earth and Oceanic Sciences Research Institute, said giant squid lived at a depth of between 275 and 500 metres.
He said he would not describe Mr Perano's find as rare, but said it was relatively uncommon.
"It's the second giant squid to wash up in the last three or four weeks. The other one came in at Nelson."
He said it was likely the squid was discarded by a trawler, because it was of no commercial value.
Squid are full of toxins and are unpalatable except to whales.
He said the squid found by Mr Perano was probably a mature male or a sub-mature female.
Giant squid (architeuthis) are the world's largest invertebrate and can move at up to 40 kilometres per hour.
