Pete Thomas Outdoors

Squid invasion photographs reveal a surreal nighttime event

The rare invasion of large and ravenous squid off Southern California has been more like a blitz, with the slithery cephalopods showing first off San Diego and advancing at least as far north as Santa Barbara.

This has sent anglers clambering onto fishing boats for a truly wet and wild experience, but for one resident catching the mysterious denizens wasn't enough. Jon Schwartz dove in with his camera to document the experience from beneath the surface (his self-portrait is pictured below).

It was not the safest swim the grade-school teacher from Oceanside has enjoyed, and this is not something others should attempt. But Schwartz, who is an expert marine photographer, captured some incredible images and even brought a few squid to class for first-grade study.

"I asked a bunch of experts if they thought it was safe and they said it might be," Schwartz, who specializes in photographing large game fish from underwater, said of his weekend plunge.

The Humboldt or jumbo squid have made headlines for good reason.

The deep-water critters, which can measure 7 feet and weigh up to 100 pounds, are visitors from far to the the south and only show off California every 4-5 years.

These northbound forays -- perceived by some scientists as an attempt at permanent colonization -- are believed to be spurred by a warm current or some other anomaly.

A weak El Nino in 2009-10 might have spurred the recent invasion. In past episodes, the squid have shown as far north as British Columbia. They are believed to have an adverse impact on many native fisheries.

The presence of squid, however, is a boon for sportfishing landings that offer special daytime and nighttime expeditions, with night generally best because the squid -- which typically inhabit depths from 650 to 3,000 feet -- are closer to the surface and can be attracted by floodlights.

Schwartz hired a yacht to deliver him to the site of one of the bites off Newport Beach. Armed with just a camera and strobe, he dove in, adjusted his gear and began to shoot away.

As someone who has been scuba diving with Humboldt squid in the Sea of Cortez off Mexico, this reporter can attest that it's an unsettling but surreal experience. I was charged by several large squid at a depth of 60 feet. They resembled alien beings and traveled through the water at remarkable speeds, during what, thereafter, became a very short dive.

I had heard about alleged attacks by squid on humans in the Sea of Cortez, off Mexico. There also was a well-documented incident during which a diver was dragged downward and had much of his gear ripped away in what became a life-threatening frenzy.

Schwartz was interested in photographing them because they are such rare visitors to Southern California and possess an amazing ability to change color and pulsate with iridescent light, carried out via millions of chromatophores as perhaps a means of communication.

"There were some that were flashing below me that fell in love with my strobe and they were really wild," Schwartz said. "They sit there and stare at you with tentacles pitched forward in a kind of arrow."

The teacher-photographer added that he was less afraid of the squid than he was of much larger predators that patrol the ocean at night.

"I was worried about mako sharks and great white sharks, too," he said.

-- Images are courtesy of Jon Schwartz and protected by copyright laws. To read more about Schwartz's adventures, please visit his blog

Rare catch of a tiny sailfish is made off Cabo San Lucas

A good fish story always seems to involve a monstrous catch or marathon battle, but perhaps more impressive is the catch of a truly tiny member of a big-game species.

Behold the sailfish in the accompanying photo. It was reeled in last Saturday off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a Baja California angler's paradise known for its much larger billfish.  It's impressive because of its rarity: People simply do not catch baby billfish.

Chris Fuller, who was aboard the Petrolero, was fishing for tuna in the Sea of Cortez and using a live sardine and 40-pound-test line. After the ravenous little sailfish grabbed the five-inch bait, it performed the typical sailfish acrobatics for a very brief period before being pulled aboard, photographed and released. (Fuller is pitured above, holding his catch.)

Its weight was estimated at about three pounds and scientists, after inspecting the photo, guessed its age at about 4 months.

Tracy Ehrenberg, general manager of Pisces Sportfishing, which has been operating off Cabo San Lucas for more than 30 years, supplied the image for this story. She had heard of only one other tiny sailfish being caught, the other a slightly larger specimen in 2009.

The 2009 catch was not released. Measuring 42.1 inches and weighing nearly 3.7 pounds, it was recorded as the smallest sailfish to have been caught aboard a sportfishing boat out of the popular resort destination. Its age was determined to be 5 months.

Of the more recent specimen, Ehrengerg said, "I have never seen a billfish so small."

For the sake of comparison, the International Game Fish Assn. lists the all-tackle world record Pacific sailfish as a 221-pound specimen caught off Ecuador in 1947.

Scientists say both catches are important because they prove that the region off Cabo San Lucas -- at Baja California's tip, where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez -- is a nursery area for sailfish.

Fuller was using a circle hook, designed to catch in the corner of a fish's mouth to allow for safer releases. Said Ehrenberg on the Pisces blog: "After a brief five minutes on the line and posing for the paparazzi, the tiny sailfish was successfully released."

Perhaps in a few years it can be recaptured at a much larger size, and become one of those other types of fish stories.

-- Image showing Chris Fuller (left), deckhand Ruben Orantes and Capt. Rob Lawford posing with juvenile sailfish is courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing

Reward offered in attempt to apprehend trout thieves

The California Department of Fish and Game's Californians Turn In Poachers and Polluters program is offering up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the thieves responsible for stealing approximately 1,000 trout from the San Joaquin Hatchery last weekend.

On Aug. 21, between 3 and 4 a.m., someone forced entry into the hatchery and stole up to 1,000 large trout, and also killed and left another 70 large trout in the process. The fish, which weighed three-to-four-pounds each, had been growing in the hatchery for three years.

DFG wardens have collected evidence at the scene and hope to get additional information from anyone who may have seen someone trying to sell the trout. The value of the fish and the cost to repair the damage to the hatchery elevate the crime to a felony.

Citizens are encouraged to be watchful for anyone attempting to sell trout on the street, at outdoors markets, or any place where trout are not normally sold. Physical descriptions, vehicle license plate numbers, time, date and locations would be extremely helpful.

The CalTIP hotline is (888) 334-2258. The toll-free telephone number operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You do not have to give your name.

-- Image of rainbow trout courtesy of Eric Engbretson / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Record-setting albino catfish (194 pounds) caught in Spain

In the week or so since British angler Chris Grimmer landed a 194-pound albino catfish while on holiday in Spain, his home country newspapers have had fun with the story.

The Express, for example, topped its write-up with this headline: "Better Get More Chips, Love... "

The eight-foot-long behemoth, a wels catfish pulled from the River Ebro after a 20-minute struggle, is said by Catmasters Tours to be the heaviest albino catfish ever caught on rod and reel.

The Sun quotes Grimmer as saying, "It was like trying to reel in a bus. I could barely walk afterwards, but it was worth it."

The cream-colored beast, which was set free after it was weighed, was two pounds heavier than the previous record, caught and released last year in the same stretch of river by Sheila Penfold, who is blind.

Colin Bunn, a spokesman for Catmasters, said in an interview that Grimmer's catfish was thought at first to be the same fish, "but when we checked the photos it was a different fish."

Grimmer told the Express: "It took my reel and stripped it and it was then that I knew it was a big one. My mate went into the water to help lift it out. I was jumping down the bank when I realized it was a record."

The International Game Fish Assn. does not keep track of "albino" catfish records, but the IGFA lists the all-tackle record for wels catfish as a 297-pound, 9-ounce specimen caught last year in Italy's River Po.

Of the wels catfish, the IGFA website states that there are "tales of it attacking and drowning dogs and even children, but these are based on hearsay, rather than observation."

Bunn, who has had clients from 69 countries ply the Ebro for giant catfish, could not recall any such incident.

-- Image showing Chris Grimmer (left) and buddies posing with the albino catfish is courtesy of Catmasters Tours

Details emerge regarding capture of one-eyed 'Cyclops' shark

An albino, one-eyed shark fetus removed from a pregnant bull shark captured recently in the Sea of Cortez was one of 10 babies inside the large predator. All others were normal in color and appearance.

A story with very few details went viral during the past week, mainly because one photo (at right) revealed a white, three-foot-long shark with what appeared to be a single eye perfectly centered in its head, just above the mouth.

Skeptics abounded. One Southern California-based scientist jokingly identified the three-foot fetus as "Cycloptomus," believing the photo to be doctored and part of a hoax.

The story became more believable after Felipe Galvan, a prominent Mexican scientist, acknowledged that he had inspected the shark and had even written a paper on the discovery. The paper is under scientific review.

But on Saturday more details emerged. Tracy Ehrenberg, general manager of Pisces Sportfishing in Cabo San Lucas, interviewed the fisherman who made the catch southeast of La Paz, Mexico, the capital of Baja California Sur.

Ehrenberg said on the Pisces blog that the mother bull shark was caught on a large hook baited with ballyhoo, tethered to a line beneath a buoy fixed in place by another line anchored by a sand bag. The shark was dead when it was hauled up, long after the set was made near Cerralvo Island.

It was taken ashore and filleted, a process that revealed nine normal pups and the albino, one-eyed fetus.

"The fisherman told me that this one would have been born first, due to the position it was in -- first in line at the exit, but that he doubted that it would have survived," said Ehrenberg, who did not reveal the fisherman's name.

Shark fishing is controversial because so many species are in decline, but fishermen in coastal Baja communities know of no other livelihoods and rely on whatever bounty they can catch to provide for their families.

Said Ehrenberg, a strong proponent of marine conservation: "It's kind of sad to see a female with pups inside killed but this was taken by a commercial fishing skiff and this is how this fisherman makes his living. All parts of the shark are used, including the skin. The meat is salted and sent to mainland Mexico, where it is usually sold as bacalo or "cod."

-- Image is courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing

-- PTO Facebook page

Florida anglers' catch of 25-foot giant squid is a gift to science

Catch of the week honors belong to three fishermen who recovered a barely-living 25-foot giant squid off Florida on Monday, and to University of Florida researchers who have collected the remarkable specimen for study and possible display.

Giant squid, long depicted as sea monsters and legendary for their epic battles against predatory sperm whales, reside largely in the ocean's light-less depths. Whole specimens are incredibly rare.

"It's so rare to get these specimens and they're such deep-water animals that we don't know much about how they live," said John Slapcinsky, collection manager at the university-run Florida Museum of Natural History. "This specimen provides an excellent opportunity to learn things about these creatures we couldn't find out any other way."

The squid was discovered floating at the surface by Robert Benz, Joey Asaro and Paul Peroulakis at about 11 a.m. Monday. They had been fishing aboard a 23-foot boat and teamed to carefully haul the colossal cephalopod aboard.

"I thought we definitely need to bring it in, because no one's going to believe us if we don't," Benz said in a news release issued by the university. "I didn't want to leave it out there and just let the sharks eat it." (Benz also appears in the WPTV News video posted below.)

Giant squid, or Architeuthis dux, can measure 60 feet long and weigh 1,000-plus pounds. They reproduce only once, after which they can become lethargic and slowly perish. That might have been the case with this particular squid.

Bizarre-looking shark caught in Sea of Cortez baffles scientists

Lots of odd creatures come from the sea, and add to the list a one-eyed bull shark fetus that was removed from the body of its captured mother recently off La Paz, Mexico, in the Sea of Cortez.

A brief story about the shark is on the Pisces Sportfishing blog. Pete Thomas Outdoors shared the top image with two shark experts in California and both were skeptical at first, suggesting it was some kind of hoax.

One of them jokingly identified the species as a "Cycloptomus" because of a single eye -- if it is, in fact, an actual eye -- located just above the mouth.

But Tracy Ehrenberg, general manager at Pisces Sportfising, has been in touch with renowned shark expert Felipe Galvan, who has seen the shark and has even produced a paper on the discovery.

The paper is under scientific review. More information will be shared here when it becomes available.

-- Note: This story was updated in a separate post on July 3

-- Images are courtesy of Pisces Sportfishing, which is located in Cabo San Lucas

-- PTO Facebook page

Florida anglers land 1,000-pound mako shark after epic fight

A casual fishing contest for seven Florida bankers last Saturday turned into an epic struggle between most of the competitors and a 1,000-pound mako shark.

The great predator took a hooked slab of bonito about 16 miles off Elliott Key, whereupon it leaped 10 feet clear of the water before settling in for a deep-water fight that lasted four hours. Five of seven anglers aboard the yacht, Wound Up, took turns handling the rod and reel. (To witness the chaos alongside the boat, see the video.)
 

Warren Sands, the vessel owner who organized the excursion for graduates of Florida International University, said of the catch: "I've been fishing for 20 years, and tournament fishing for sailfish for 10 years and I've never been involved in anything like this."

Sands fought the mako for the final 30 minutes. The crew used two flying gaffs -- with lines attached -- and one straight gaff to subdue the beast and haul it through the transom door.

John Dudas, captain of Wound Up, said his previous big mako was a 912-pound specimen that had been seen surface feeding on a swordfish.

The 1,000-pound mako, which measured 12 feet, was spotted tailing in the distance. Dudas swung the boat around while mate Robbie Ramirez cast a slab of bonito, using a reel spooled with 50-pound-test line and a 2,000-pound leader used for sharks and marlin.

"Once he saw it, he came charging in on it, and he ate it pretty quick," Dudas said.

Said Dudas of the bankers: "They just love being out there, and to see something that big was very exciting for them, and was really a thrill of a lifetime for them."

The International Game Fish Assn. lists as the all-tackle world record a 1,221-pound mako caught by Luke Sweeney off Chatham, Mass., in 2001.

Undersea museum is transformed into thriving reef (video)

"The Silent Evolution" theme of Jason deCaires Taylor's undersea art project off Cancun has never seemed so appropriate, now that the artist has produced video showing the transformation of his stunningly surreal work into a sprawling reef system teeming with fish and other marine life.

(See video below. The first 3:35 is the more captivating transformation; the rest is behind-the-scenes footage.)

The project was ambitious from the beginning; it involved more than 400 life-like concrete statues, meticulously carved to resemble a cross section of human society, and strategically placed across 420 acres of ocean floor.

The life-size figures were fully in place late last fall within Cancun's National Marine Park beyond the Mexican resort destination, with the support of park officials and the Cancun Nautical Association.

The sprawling museum was designed to attract scuba divers, thus relieving pressure from the area's more fragile natural reefs.

Also, by creating sculptures of people from various walks of life -- from an 85-year-old nun to a 3-year-old boy, to a doctor, fisherman and student, etc. -- the artist delivers a long-standing message that environmental issues affect everyone.

DeCaires Taylor, who is from England, explains on his website: "The installation portrays a gathering of people, illustrating how we are all facing serious questions concerning our environment and our impact on the natural world. The work is optimistic and forward looking, expressing hope that there will be unity in dealing with this problem."

Now that colorful reef fish and other sea creatures have discovered sanctuary amid the sculptures, some of which have grown masks of coral and algae that attract and support smaller life forms, the evolution of DeCaires Taylor's finished product is in fact silent, and wonderfully evident.

-- Image is courtesy of Jason deCaires Taylor and protected by ©copyright laws

Rare sighting of offshore killer whales made off Long Beach

A rare sighting of offshore-type killer whales was made Friday about 12 miles nortwest of Long Beach by passengers aboard the dive boat Magician as it was en route to Santa Catalina Island.

As many as eight orcas were seen feeding on a massive school of fish before slowly heading east, and there could be many more around because offshore killer whales typically travel in much larger groups.

In fact, 30 offshore killer whales were seen off Monterey on March 20 and at least one of them was the same animal spotted Friday, according to researcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger. That orca has been nicknamed Scoopfin and it's pictured above in August of 2002, off Monterey.

(Schulman-Janiger is requesting that weekend boaters who encounter any orcas take photographs for identification purposes; she can be reached via email at [email protected].)

The type of killer whales most commonly seen off Southern California are transients, which prey almost exclusively on marine mammals, including gray whale calves. Offshore killer whales prey on fish and small sharks. They often travel in groups of between 25-100 but while traveling they typically break up into groups of 5-15.

Offshore orcas seem to spend much of their time off British Columbia. Schulman-Janiger, who is conducting a longterm photo-identification study of transient and offshore killer whales, said she has fewer than 60 records of offshore orcas off California over the last 19 years.

Those that have been spotted off the Long Beach area often traveled to south Orange County before turning around, so chances are good that there will be more sightings before the end of what's expected to be a beautiful weekend on the water.

Have your cameras ready as offshore orcas are curious mammals, known to approach boats.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo of Scoopfin the offshore killer whale is courtesy of Alisa Schulman-Janiger