Rare squid off Kaikoura

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32970, 17 July 1972, Page 2

Rare squid off Kaikoura

A rare giant squid was found floating in the sea off the Kaikoura coast by two Kaikoura fishermen. Messrs L. B. and K. M. Garbes were fishing from a small boat off Rakautura, about 10 miles north of Kaikoura, when they found the 25ft fish. Bad weather prevented them from retrieving it intact, but they cut off two tentacles. About 12 squid have been reported in New Zealand during the last 100 years. Of these, four have been mea-

sured and examined. All four were of different species, said Mr I. Mannering. head lecturer in zoology at the Edward Percival Marine Laboratory at Kaikoura. To the best of his knowledge, the last reported was in 1945, Mr Mannering said. Most of the reports of squid were from the northern half of the South Island, he said. It was thought that this was because of the existence of the Hikurangi trench, running along the east coast of the North Island and finishing at Kaikoura in the South Island. The trench was up to 6000 ft deep in parts.

“The important thing about the group is that it is always very rare wherever it occurs. It is so important that we get intact animals if possible,” said Mr Mannering. All that has been salvaged of the squid by Mr Mannering are several suckers from one of the tentacles. The suckers are about 1 Jin in diameter, but they are not sufficient to determine which species the squid was. Some of the squid came ashore alive, but a proportion of those which did not were badly mauled by sharks and birds.

"An intact one would be very valuable indeed,” said Mr Mannering. “We fully expect that more will come up. We hope that when they do, people will notify us. the Canterbury Museum, the zoology department of the University of Canterbury, or the Dominion Museum in Wellington. so that a trained biologist can get to them to make an identification quickly.” If an intact squid was found, an attempt would be made to preserve it either in pieces or whole at Kaikoura, Mr-Mannering said.