Originally posted by Mulegena
I've been out on squid boats in the Sea of Cortez. I'm a PADI certified divemaster with 8 years experience diving the waters in the Sea of Cortez. My
husband is a professional free-diver in the Sea of Cortez; he's not a squidder, btw. I've been on journeys with Scott Cassell and his chain-mail suits
here in the Sea of Cortez. I've spoken with divers and film crew asking the very same questions as the poster of this thread. They've been down here
and have been unsuccessful in gathering any film footage of these creatures; and they've asked me to contact them "when the squid show up".
This doesn't make me an "expert" on squids. Frankly I don't think anybody is, mainly because they can be elusive and often don't show up when and
where they're expected. The ones that are being fished here live down in deep waters, 800-1000 feet. They surface to feed; you can see their water
spouts when they surface. Yes, they have a beak rather like a parrot. Yes, a squid snaps when they eat or are in a defensive posture to protect their
lives from predation. No, they're not actively aggressive, and they are only about 1-2 feet long total.
To my knowledge no scientific cumulative studies have been done to determine how many squid are in the Sea of Cortez, basically because these animals
live so deep and are very elusive; also the squid canneries here aren't required to do such research. Therefore, there's little restriction by the
squidderies that operate out of Santa Rosalia. The amount of squid taken out of our waters here is significantly less in recent years than it was a
decade ago. Just a few years ago it was so pretty to walk along the malecon of Sta. Rosalia at night. The squids boats would be out there by the
hundreds each with an on-board light making the bay like a little city lit up by candle light. Sad, it would appear to me that the Sea of Cortez is
loosing this beautiful, mysterious creature to human greed and predation.
There is a chance of encountering squid in the evening waters, but I never have, even in night dives. They are there, but I doubt they'd be
aggressive.
You do have a chance of being whacked on the foot by a stingray. They're prevalent in these warm waters. Hot water soak and check for a barb is the
remedy for this. Also there are jellyfish and tiny micro-organisms in the water that produce a generalized sting where they touch your skin. The
remedy for this is plain vinegar topically.
I've never heard of anyone encountering the mythical sea creature The Kracken here in the Sea of Cortez. Your chances of encountering it are perhaps
0%, but your imagination is free to run wild.
Come and enjoy swimming and diving the Sea of Cortez. Let your spirit and sense of adventure run free, but don't be afraid of the water.
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