Proof that the oceans are home to unbelievable creatures is a discovery a fishing writer made today near the NSW South Coast. Al McGlashan got to see a twelve foot giant squid with his own eyes.
Al McGlashan, the author of the Fishing Bible, was in a tuna fishing expedition near the NSW South Coast when he got to see a pretty rare thing. The fishing writer made quite an impressive sighting, the kind that many committed fishermen can’t brag about. The man spotted a twelve foot giant squid about 50 kilometers off the Jervis Bay Coast.
Granted the giant sea creature was dead, but that doesn’t make the finding less impressive. Al McGlashan is quite an experimented man when it comes to the ocean’s creatures. However the discovery really impressed him. The fishing writer said: “In all my time of fishing, I’ve never seen calamari rings so big. It was massive”.
Furthermore, giant squids are very rare. Although their existence has been confirmed by scientists and evidence, giant squids sightings are elusive. “They’re sort of one of those mythical things” explained Al McGlashan that “you hear those stories about ancient mariners getting attacked in their boat…and you only hear about the very occasional one being washed up down in Tassie”.
The three meters long squid was found dead, and scientists believe it’s likely it was killed by a sperm whale. Al McGlashan, columnist for The Daily Telegraph, added: “It must have died not that long before we found it because it didn’t smell at all and its colors were still strong – most giant squid remains are smelly and rotten and just off-white by the time someone finds them”.
Dr. Mandy Reid is a squid specialist with the Australian Museum. She said that giant squids are known to reach lengths of 13 meters. Although the giant squids usually only live for a year, she believes that the giant squid was attacked by a sperm whale. “Sperm whales are far bigger, heavier and faster in the water – the giant squid are quite slow – so the whale generally wins”.
McGlashan witnessed another breathtaking moment, as the giant squid soon became a shark’s meal. Dr. Reid explained that although the giant squid meat doesn’t taste that good for people, sharks are really into it. A 2.5 meters blue shark “hoed into the squid straight away” said McGlashan.
