Need A Bigger Sqiud Jig For This story

[Redspeckle]

Squid runs rings around record

NEW Zealand fishermen in the Ross Sea near Antarctica have caught what's thought to be the world's largest squid, weighing an estimated 450kg.
If calamari were made from the squid, the rings would be the size of tractor tyres, experts say.
Scientists are yet to examine the whopper, but if original estimates are correct it is about 10m long and is 150kg heavier than the next biggest specimen hauled from the deep.
The squid was hauled to the surface munching on one of its favourite foods -- a patagonian toothfish the fishermen had hooked on a longline.
The previous largest find weighed in at 300kg in 2003.
The squid was caught three weeks ago, but the find was announced yesterday.
Geoff Dolan, an observer with New Zealand's Ministry of Fisheries, was aboard the vessel San Aspiring, owned by the Sanford seafood company, when the squid was hauled aboard.
``There was quite a lot of excitement onboard . . . the decision was taken that the chances of survival were not good, and in the interests of science it should be taken on board,'' Mr Dolan said.
The squid was taken below deck and stored in a 1200-litre-capacity bin, before it was frozen. It will ultimately end up at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, where it will be preserved for scientific study.
Caption: FOR science . . . the 450kg squid is hauled beside the fishing boat, while, inset, the giant is brought
Mitch

[Shane Boese]

Mitch mate hears the pic

Regards
Shane

[Wayne_Red]

Yeh saw it in the paper today, one big squid. Didn't show the squid jig though, maybe one of those new "yozuri sheep" ones?
wayne

[dogsbody]

Big Sqiud= Big Snapper. You might have your hands full on that one.

Dave.

[Redspeckle]

This from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - PETA
March 9, 2007 By Paula Moore
I Have only put up the frist part of the story about the Giant Squid


Al Gore didn’t mention the giant squid during his appearance at the Academy Awards, but he certainly could have. Experts say that the rare colossal squid recently caught by a New Zealand fishing party may not be unusual in coming years. Thanks to rising temperatures, squid and octopuses are gradually becoming larger.

The experts interviewed by reporters were practically jovial about this. The upside of global warming, some suggested, is that we could soon be enjoying meaty calamari rings as large as tractor tires.

One expert on cephalopods even offered this fascinating insight: “They taste great.”

While some scientists cracked jokes—“Calamari, anyone?”—I wasn’t laughing. Aside from my very real concerns about global warming, reading about an animal who fought for his life for two hours—two hours!—before finally succumbing to exhaustion didn’t strike me as very funny. New Zealand Fisheries Minister Jim Anderton said that the squid was “almost dead when it reached the surface”—who wouldn’t be after struggling for so long?—and was hauled on board the fishing vessel, then frozen in the ship’s hull. After that, the squid was taken back to New Zealand to be poked and prodded by researchers.

Mitch