Giant Squid Caught in Gulf of Mexico

The first such find was collected in 1954 off the Mississippi Delta where it was found floating dead at the surface. This giant squid was was caught in a trawl pulled behind the research vessel at a depth of more than 1,500 feet.

Anthony Martinez, marine mammal scientist for NOAA's Fisheries Service and chief scientist for the research cruise said they had expected a remote possibility of capturing a giant squid, but not realistically. It was was preserved and sent to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum for Natural History for further study.

The giant squid measured just over 19 1/2 feet long and weighed more than 103 pounds. Obviously, this isn't the type of giant squid or "kraken" envisioned by Jules Verne, but this is reality.

Recent estimates put the maximum size of a giant squid at 43 ft for females and 33 ft for males from caudal fin to the tip of the two long tentacles. This isn't the biggest possible squid however. The colossal squid can be as large as 46 ft.

Written by Michael Santo
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