Big Squid Beached - 7/11/09 - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

dsafety · 07-15-2009, 09:33 PM

I'm pretty sure that the type of squid that have been washing up are Humboldt Squid. They have been doing this for as long as I can remember. Usually about this time of year and not every year.

Back when I was lifeguarding at LJ Shores in the late 1970's there was a major beaching event. Hundreds, maybe thousands of these squid beached themselves. They were all alive but would not return to the sea. Folks who like to eat squid swarmed the beach to harvest the bounty. The sight of a 90 pound Asian guy dragging 50 pounds of squid up the beach and throwing it in the trunk of his car sticks with me even today.

The squid beaching became a media event with reporters from all networks descending on the Shores and filing their reports. One guy who worked for UPI came up to me while I was working and did an interview, complete with photos. The story went out worldwide and even although only my name was mentioned in the article, interested readers somehow found me. I started getting calls from all sorts of people from all over the world wanting to know more about these squid. As if I knew anything... I was just the guy in the red swim trunks.

It was a very interesting event. Somewhere I have a 35 year old newspaper photo of me holding up a four foot long squid for the world to see. If I can find it, I will post. The photo was published in papers everywhere. I got calls from relatives back east and friends in Europe and Australia who saw the article.

Some of the callers had very strange requests. Some teacher in Alabama wanted me to give a lecture to her sixth grade class on squid and other sea life. I was even asked out on a couple of dates. It was a very weird couple of days.

Everyone is supposed to have at least 15 minutes of fame. I guess that was mine.

Bob

07-15-2009, 09:33 PM	#13
dsafety Olivenhain Bob Join Date: May 2008 Location: Olivenhain, CA Posts: 1,122	I'm pretty sure that the type of squid that have been washing up are Humboldt Squid. They have been doing this for as long as I can remember. Usually about this time of year and not every year. Back when I was lifeguarding at LJ Shores in the late 1970's there was a major beaching event. Hundreds, maybe thousands of these squid beached themselves. They were all alive but would not return to the sea. Folks who like to eat squid swarmed the beach to harvest the bounty. The sight of a 90 pound Asian guy dragging 50 pounds of squid up the beach and throwing it in the trunk of his car sticks with me even today. The squid beaching became a media event with reporters from all networks descending on the Shores and filing their reports. One guy who worked for UPI came up to me while I was working and did an interview, complete with photos. The story went out worldwide and even although only my name was mentioned in the article, interested readers somehow found me. I started getting calls from all sorts of people from all over the world wanting to know more about these squid. As if I knew anything... I was just the guy in the red swim trunks. It was a very interesting event. Somewhere I have a 35 year old newspaper photo of me holding up a four foot long squid for the world to see. If I can find it, I will post. The photo was published in papers everywhere. I got calls from relatives back east and friends in Europe and Australia who saw the article. Some of the callers had very strange requests. Some teacher in Alabama wanted me to give a lecture to her sixth grade class on squid and other sea life. I was even asked out on a couple of dates. It was a very weird couple of days. Everyone is supposed to have at least 15 minutes of fame. I guess that was mine. Bob