Squid boom seen before
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Dear editor,
Humboldt squid by the hundreds were on the beach in Hardy Bay on Oct. 17, 18, 19 and 20th.
Besides being on the beach, there were also large pools of them seen swimming in the bay that were reported by some of the fishermen.
Adults and kids were down on the beach, checking out these large squid that some said had never been “seen before.”
These squid are big, maybe up to five feet in length and weighing roughly around 40 pounds.
Some fishermen have been taking some for bait. The thought is maybe some people have taken some to eat, but that is questionable. The colours are dark and light orange and purple.
Stories told by fishermen years ago tell that, circa 1920, pilchards came to the north end of the Island and two canneries with pilchard reduction plants went into operation in Quatsino Sound.
When the pilchards had been here roughly six years, the large squid appeared in Quatsino Sound.
They probably appeared elsewhere on the beaches on the North Island, perhaps also more each year.
The reason they end up dead on the beaches is unknown – does it happen after they spawn?
The squid were here till the pilchards virtually disappeared in 1930 – they were not fished out.
The squid disappeared also, because the pilchards were their favourite food, and so the canneries closed.
The squid were first noticed on the outside beaches on the west coast of the Island in 2005 – this is the first year they have made it around the top of the Island and into Hardy Bay.
The pilchards returned to the area in about 1999/2000, so it’s similar to what happened 80 years ago.
Their usual habitat is South California, Mexico and more south, though.
Ruth Botel
Port Hardy
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