Hundreds more squid wash up in San Clemente, CA

Sept. 22, 2011

By PAT BRENNAN / ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Between 100 and 200 dead squid washed up on San Clemente beaches Wednesday night or Thursday morning, though the cause was unknown.

Two of a line of squid that washed up on the beach in San Clemente. COURTESY NANCY LELAND

The squid are most likely Humboldt squid, also called jumbo squid, that have appeared in large numbers off the coasts of Orange and San Diego counties in recent days, said Ty Gevas of

Davey’s Locker Sportfishing & Whale Watching in Newport Beach.

Fisherman have been catching large numbers, he said.

The squid, a foot long or more, provoked curiosity from beachgoers as cleanup crews worked to remove the carcasses Thursday morning, said San Clemente lifeguard Ian Burton.

“They were pretty big-size squid, like two feet long, very fat,” said surfer Carl Christ of Dana Point. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

A state Fish and Game warden who happened to be scuba diving in the area Thursday saw the squid, and said they most likely died after spawning, a natural occurrence.

ocregister.com

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Hundreds of Squid Wash up at Blacks Beach, Ca.
By xdrfox on Sunday, September 18, 2011

Dead squid wash up on south Orange County beach

September 22, 2011 | 4:12pm

Hundreds of dead squid have washed up on a beach in San Clemente, puzzling some beachgoers, but officials said it was a natural occurrence and not a cause for alarm.

The Orange County Register reported that 100 to 200 Humboldt squid washed up overnight.

Ian Burton, a marine safety officer, said the squid, about 18 inches long, were covering the beach when he came to work Thursday morning. City maintenance crews spent a couple of hours cleaning them up, he said.

Andrew Hughan, a spokesman with the California Department of Fish and Game, said the squid die-off was a natural occurrence. The squids spawn, then die.

“They do what they do, and then they call it in,” he said.

David Schmitt, a manager at Davey’s Locker Sportfishing & Whale Watching in Newport Beach, said fishing excursions have been catching thousands of Humboldt squid over the last few days. He said the coast periodically sees an invasion by the squid.

“They show up, and they eat everything in sight, not including people,” he said.

latimesblogs.latimes.com

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