On a recent fishing trip to Sekiu, I arrived in the very early morning to see hundreds, if not thousands, of humboldt squid washed up on the beach. They are apparently attracted to the lights of the town at night, and get stranded at low tide. The seagulls were gorging themselves! They are not a native species, as their closest native waters are much farther south, in mexico and southern california. But in El Nino years, they have been known to travel north. Fishermen have been catching Huge squid, some up to 60 pounds!! This is an odd occurence, and I must say, the first time I have seen such a spectacle. Local fishermen have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, for the ones who like calamari, it's a rare chance to catch a Humboldt in the Pacific Northwest. For others, it's an annoyance, and a danger to the local fish population.
Sekiu Beached Squid 1
Gallery
Squid washing ashore in Sekiu, WA
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says ... on Friday, Sep 25 at 10:42 AM
That's quite a site - thanks for sharing the pics, as well as the info.
says ... on Tuesday, Sep 29 at 7:42 PM
Nice pictures. As a suggestion, next time you could put something like a dollar bill or a quarter next to one so we could get a perspective on the size.
says ... on Wednesday, Sep 30 at 10:40 PM
They were about 18 to 24 inches long on average. I'll do that next time, thanks for the suggestion!
says ... on Wednesday, Sep 30 at 10:42 PM
Thanks for the suggestion, Darrel! Most of them were 24-36 inches long.
says ... on Thursday, Oct 1 at 7:21 AM
wow! what a sight to see on the shore! so due to the temp changes in the water they are traveling north?? all the way from mexico to seattle area? are they shorline huggers too?? i'm almost tempted to grab my squid gear and head out! looks like fun!!
says ... on Thursday, Oct 1 at 4:30 PM
you should do some research on this type of squid before you go swimming with them... they are very aggressive!
says ... on Friday, Oct 2 at 11:30 AM
Yeah, this water is a bit too cold to be swimming in. We caught one a few weeks back when fishing Sekiu ... odd creature ....
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