The ocean off Orange County has become alive with two- to three-foot squid, to the delight of anglers who don't mind being squirted with water and ink, and of landing operators who had been enduring a slow period of sportfishing.
Boats from Long Beach to Dana Point began targeting Humboldt, or jumbo squid after an image surfaced last week showing hundreds of the deep-water denizens washed ashore at Blacks Beach in San Diego County. (Hundreds more washed ashore Thursday at San Clemente.)
Humboldt squid, which can measure 7 feet and weigh more than 100 pounds, appear off Southern California every four or five years, spurred by a warm current or some other anomaly. Their historic range was off South America, but for years they've been entrenched in the Sea of Cortez off Mexico.
Recent invasions off California and even beyond, off the Pacific Northwest, caused scientists to become concerned that the voracious squid, which could be harmful to other fisheries, are expanding their territory to include West Coast waters.
Strandings of squid on beaches have historically preceded infestations in localized areas, and it's apparent that such an infestation is occurring off Orange County. This might have something to do with a considerable decrease in blue whale sightings in the same areas during the past two days.
The crew of the Freedom out of Davey's Locker in Newport Beach reported the capture of 1,300 squid on Thursday night alone.
Anglers aboard the Sum Fun out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing had trouble locating the squid, which typically inhabit depths of 650-3,000 feet, until about 9:45 p.m.
"Then all of a sudden they just attacked the boat," said Donna Kalez, who manages the landing. "They bit for 45 minutes and the anglers caught over 400 squid."
While Humboldt squid are easier to locate at night, by using bright lights to lure them upward, anglers aboard day boats have been getting them, too.
There are even reports that fishermen off the Dana Point breakwater have seen squid chase game fish as they're being reeled in.
Kalez said the last time squid were off Orange County they stayed for three weeks, allowing anglers to load up on calamari steaks.
She's billing her nighttime trips, which cost $25, as family-friendly. After all, what kid wouldn't appreciate a creature with slithering arms and tentacles, capable of squirting ink the width of a boat?
As for crew members who have to clean the boat, they might be of a different opinion.
-- Image showing a hooked squid through an ink-smeared lens courtesy of Dana Wharf Sportfishing. Second image shows squid washed ashore at Blacks Beach
Yep! This was a lot of fun. No more than two miles straight out of Dana Point, we were hauling them in from 6am all the way to about 9am; sometimes seeing one or two others latched onto the squid that was on the jig. The two of us loaded up on about 20 humbolts in the range of 20-30 pounds each. Could have gotten more, but we didn't see the need. Cleaned and kept a few for calamari, and kept the rest for bait. We STILL have about a dozen left. Strips of humbolt work miracles for rock cod fishing! Can't wait to see these things around again. Captain - "Mako-Wish" Dana Point, CA
Posted by: Eric | Apr 04, 2012 at 09:04 PM