Monster squid helps study
An 80kg squid hauled up from 1000m near Whakaari/White Island may help researchers find out how far toxic volcanic chemicals are travelling up the food chain.
Marine science students based at the Coastal Marine Field Station in Tauranga aim to determine if the eruption in 2019 had any effect on the uptake of toxic elements in marine life.
On June 18, students took flesh samples from the squid to test for mercury, arsenic and cadmium, among others.
They also took egg samples that will be cryopreserved then possibly hatched to understand the creature’s life cycle better.
A number of fish were killed after the eruptions and professor Chris Battershill said in a statement they wanted to see how far through the food chain chemicals were travelling.
‘‘It’s tragic what’s been happening there, but the island itself is one of the few places in the world where you’ve got carbon dioxide seeping out of the marine sea floor, but at a shallow depth. So it’s kind of like a living laboratory for climate change and looking at the effects of ocean acidification.’’
The squid is believed to be a Taningia danae, Dana Octopus Squid or Strobe Squid.
The rare species lives in deep water and is on the menu for sperm whales.
They are estimated to be around three metres in length and weigh over 80kg. Battershill thinks this specimen is getting up to be the largest ever recorded.
The squid was caught by the crew of the Margaret Philippa in a net of orange roughy at a trawl depth of 1000 metres.
It was hoisted by crane onto a double flat-bed trailer at Sulphur Point, Tauranga.
Skipper Roger Rawlinson of Moana Fisheries said they often get squid as a bycatch but nothing of this size and he knew instantly it could be used for scientific purposes.