Masses of large ocean-going squid have inundated the shores of Southern Chile, alarming local fishermen who fear these carnivorous invaders could threaten fish stocks. Envisat has helped account for their otherwise mysterious arrival.These jumbo flying squid – Dosidicus gigas is their Latin name – are some of the largest known squids on the planet: the ones here measure between 70 to 150 centimetres in length, although specimens have been known to reach more than three metres. Making their home in the open ocean, they rise to the surface at night to aggressively feed on small fish using barbed suckers. In the final days of February more than 200 of the squid were washed up on the beaches around Ancud, on the northern coast of the island of Chiloé in southern Chile. Further incursions have since taken place towards Calbuco, on the inner side of the Chacao channel and towards the southern part of the island along the coast, up to Castro in the middle of the big island of 'Los Lagos' region of the country. Strandings have also been reported in more northerly areas such as Chile's VIII region. Wondering why these deepwater animals unexpectedly made it to coastal waters is a matter of more than just scientific interest.

Thousands of Chileans earn their livelihood from fishing in this part of the country, and these voracious cephalopods are known to prey on commercial fish including hake, sardines and anchovies. The squid themselves are a delicacy in some parts of the world but there is no local tradition of catching or consuming them. But an explanation for the incursions was available – from 800 km away in space. Envisat's Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) instrument works like a space-based thermometer, taking the temperature of land and sea as it orbits the Earth. It can measure sea surface temperature (SST) to an accuracy of 0.3 degrees centigrade at a spatial resolution of one square km.

View: Full Article | Source: ESA

Wow !! to think there are that many of one species of giant squid living in one area . And to think up until just a few years back they were concidered an unexplained mystery themselves , a myth or folk lore . I wonder just how many others there are out there in the oceans .
I also hope that with that many dying in the area somebody thinks to put a camera in the water and look for the ones that are still alive .

I put it down to global warming and what us human beens have done to planet earth.Now mother nature fights back and there is nothing us clever humans can do about it.Maybe we are just to smart for our own good

lol first of i live in scotland but i am not scottish and no one has fed me with a spoon i can feed my self.how do you explain all these mutations happening?I am sure as an american you have the answer for us all.

Scary.