Tentacled Invasion of the California Coast!

It's not often that I write about anything other than octopuses on this blog, but then again, it's not often that cephalopods make headlines like this!

From: www.cbs5.com, March 6, 2009

Invasion of Squid Along the California Coast
It may seem like something out of a horror movie, but giant squid have invaded key fishing areas in the Pacific, gobbling up everything they can find.

Off the California coast, its been getting harder to catch big fish like salmon — but a whole lot easier to hook a deep sea monster, the Humboldt Squid.

The population of the Humboldt Squid, which has huge 6-feet-long tentacles and weighs up to 100 pounds, has soared along the California coast line.

The giant Squid's usual territory from Chile to Mexico has expanded dramatically over the last seven years. Once rarely seen off California, they are now strong arming their way toward dominance.

William Gilly of Stanford University said one thing is for sure, the squid are not picky eaters and right now millions of them are consuming whatever they can find off the California coast.

For fisherman, that means the tug on the end of the line may have tentacles
instead of fins.

Some marine experts said the one defense against this giant squid invasion may be to eat them as quickly as they are eating everything else.