September 21st, 2009 
NOAA scientists with giant squid aboard the NOAA research vessel Gordon Gunter. (Credit: NOAA)
From NOAA…
Scientists from NOAA’s Fisheries Service have captured a giant squid while conducting research off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. This is only the second known giant squid obtained from the Gulf of Mexico – the first was collected in 1954 off the Mississippi Delta where it was found floating dead at the surface.
This giant squid was collected on July 30, during a 60-day scientific study where scientists from NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center and the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service were studying the availability and diversity of sperm whale prey. The scientists were aboard the NOAA research vessel Gordon Gunter when the squid was caught in a trawl pulled behind the research vessel at a depth of more than 1,500 feet.
“As the trawl net rose out of the water, I could see that we had something big in there…really big,” said Anthony Martinez, marine mammal scientist for NOAA’s Fisheries Service and chief scientist for this research cruise. “We knew there was a remote possibility of encountering a giant squid on this cruise, but it was not something we were realistically expecting.”
This giant squid was preserved and sent to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum for Natural History for further study. It measures just over 19½ feet long and weighs more than 103 pounds.
[...] September 2009 (162)August 2009 (947)July 2009 (1501)June 2009 (996)May 2009 (287)April 2009 (260)March 2009 (312)February 2009 (287)January 2009 (339)December 2008 (275)November 2008 (106)October 2008 (55)September 2008 (31)August 2008 (25)July 2008 (10)June 2008 (17)May 2008 (24)April 2008 (9)March 2008 (19)February 2008 (19)January 2008 (9)December 2007 (13)November 2007 (20)October 2007 (8)September 2007 (12)August 2007 (8)July 2007 (3)June 2007 (6)May 2007 (8)March 2007 (3)February 2007 (2)January 2007 (8)December 2006 (10)November 2006 (12)October 2006 (7)September 2006 (4)August 2006 (2)July 2006 (2)June 2006 (2)May 2006 (1)December 2005 (1) Quick, what's 19.5 feet long and over 109 pounds of raw muscle?The answer to that question can be found this week at Deep Sea News , one of the coolest blue blogs running right now. A place for all things "deep sea discovery":Scientists from NOAA’s Fisheries Service have captured a giant squid while conducting research off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. This is only the second known giant squid obtained from the Gulf of Mexico – the first was collected in 1954 off the Mississippi Delta where it was found floating dead at the surface.This giant squid was collected on July 30, during a 60-day scientific study where scientists from NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center and the Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service were studying the availability and diversity of sperm whale prey. The scientists were aboard the NOAA research vessel Gordon Gunter when the squid was caught in a trawl pulled behind the research vessel at a depth of more than 1,500 feet.Complete Post [...]
This is awesome. I was lucky enough (for an undergrad) to go out on a research vessel into the gulf this summer for a class. Went out on the R/V Pelican from LUMCON in Louisiana. I really, really enjoyed it and hope to get a chance to go out again in the future somewhere. It’s probably unlikely, but even getting out as the lowest of the low crew would be fine as well.
I just posted this same story over at Indie Squid Kid!
It’s cool to realize how much remains to be discovered even so close to home!