Spanish Navy Shocks Blamed for Giant Squid Deaths
Date: 19-Sep-03
Country: SPAIN
"The navy ship the Hesperides is working in the area...and the shock waves (are the cause of death)," said Luis Laria, president of marine protection agency CEPESMA. The giant squid, mythologized as the monster that attacked Captain Nemo's Nautilus in the Jules Verne adventure "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," is the world's largest invertebrate and lives at depths of up to 6,562 ft.
Josep Gallard, a leading scientist working on the ship, denied techniques used to study the ocean floor were harmful.
"This hypothesis is far from being proven," Gallard told Reuters from on board the Hesperides. "We use this technique because of its minimal environmental impact...the changes in pressure are very slight."
In the last few days three giant squid, creatures that are still largely a mystery to scientists, have washed up on Spain's northern Asturias coast and a fourth was still floating offshore yesterday, Laria said. One was 12 meters long.
Last year, three of the deep-sea giants washed up in the same area and scientists said a range of reasons, from military operations to global warming could have been to blame.
