Humboldt squid used to reign in the southern waters of America but over past few years super-sized squid have been gradually increasing. According to the biologists of Stanford University the squid are spreading with a layer of oxygen-poor ocean water, a possible indicator of climate change that could have serious consequences for salmon and other mainstay fish on the North Coast.
It is said that the Humboldt squid are voracious predators that grow to around 6 feet long. They remain in deep waters where the continental shelf drops off, and rise toward the surface together to feed at sunset. Lou Zeidberg, a researcher with Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, said the over sized squid is a matter of concern. He informed that changing ocean conditions could be even more significant where dissolved oxygen levels have dropped increasingly. He added that these oxygen-poor zones appear particularly important to jumbo squid because their favorite food, lantern fish, live there.
Zeidberg explained that the squid expansion may have started in earnest following the 1997-1998 El Niño, during which ocean conditions changed due to the formation of a warm water mass in the equatorial Pacific. These super sized squid become a new sport fishery. Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sportfishing in Eureka, said that the big squid has changed the action seen off the Humboldt Coast.
Now the question arise that if these super-sized squid that can grow 56 pounds in a year will affect other fisheries coveted by fishermen and consumers on the West Coast. It means that there could a new predator on the block and that is pretty awesome.
