Jetta
You got net............?
By Mike Lee
SAN DIEGO – Large squid are washing up on beaches in La Jolla
and scaring divers in the area, the National Marine Fisheries
Service said Monday.
“The ones that we are getting right now have a big beak on them,
like a large parrot beak. They could take a chunk of flesh off
you,” said John Hyde, a biologist with the agency.
Schools of Humboldt squid – also known as jumbo flying squid –
have appeared along the county's shoreline several times each year
since about 2001. Researchers aren't sure why they converge there,
Hyde said.
“This is the first (time) people have actually seen good numbers
of them while diving,” he said.
The creatures weigh about 20 pounds and typically measure less
than four feet long, Hyde added.
Many of the squid have been spotted about 100 yards off La Jolla
Shores since late last week, and waves have stranded dozens of them
in that time. Hyde suspects those squid swam too close to shore in
search of food and got washed up on the sand.
