On Sunday, hundreds of dead squid washed ashore on beaches near Aptos, and California Department of Fish and Game scientists are trying to find out why. Squid were found on beaches between Rio del Mar to Pleasure Point.
State Parks officials said they were just advised of the issue Monday and that their resource specialists had just started looking into it, and Fish and Game promised a statement later Monday (we’ll post it here when it’s available).
In in similar event in late October, about 100 squid beached themselves in Pacific Grove. At that time, scientists said they were not sure why the Humboldt squid washed up near Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, but Hopkins professor William Gilly said he suspected that squid venture out of their normal breeding grounds in Baja’s Sea of Cortez during El Niño years, when warmer water creates an inviting environment for them.
Starting with the El Niño of 1997, the squid have been spotted in the Pacific Ocean about 300 miles offshore from Canada to Chile, including several sporadic sightings in Monterey. The large squid can grow up to 6 feet in length and 100 pounds in their native Baja, Mexico.