Check out all the market squid!

I was lucky enough to have the chance to go on a boat trip in search of market squid with Larry Fukuhara, Programs Director at Cabrillo Aquarium and several Cabrillo staff members and volunteers. We left Redondo Beach at 6:00pm and headed straight for Point Vicente and the outskirts of Santa Monica Bay.

Once we got closer to several squid fishing boats it was time to turn on the lights and see if we could attract squid to our boat. It turns out that squid are attracted to light, just like bugs are to a lamp. A huge light clamped to the side of the boat shone straight down into the inky water serving as a squid magnet.

We waited patiently looking over the side watching for any movement and right when I was about to take a chocolate chip cookie break, suddenly there they were! Market squid started popping up everywhere, mini torpedoes rising to the surface. It’s not understood why market squid are drawn to light, but they really seemed to love it. And they were “loving” each other at the same time, but more on that in the next post…