TV history in store as giant squid filmed

SCIENTISTS and broadcasters said yesterday they had captured footage of an elusive giant squid, up to eight metres long, that roams the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Japan’s National Science Museum succeeded in filming the deep-sea creature in its natural habitat for the first time, working with Japanese broadcaster NHK and the Discovery Channel.

The massive invertebrate is the stuff of legend, with sightings of a huge ocean-dwelling beast reported by sailors for centuries.

The creature is thought to be the genesis of the Nordic legend of Kraken, a sea monster believed to have attacked ships in waters off Scandinavia over the last millennium.

Modern-day scientists on their own Moby Dick-style search used a submersible to get them into the dark and cold depths of the northern Pacific Ocean, where at about 630m they managed to film a three-metre specimen.

After about 100 missions, during which they spent 400 hours in the cramped submarine, the three-man crew tracked the larger specimen 900m below the surface, 15km east of Chichi island in the north Pacific Ocean.

NHK showed footage of the silver-coloured creature, which had huge black eyes, as it swam, holding a bait squid in its arms.

Museum researcher Tsunemi Kubodera said the creature had its two longest arms missing, and estimated it would have been 8m long if it had been whole. He gave no explanation for its missing arms.

He said it was the first video footage of a live giant squid in its natural habitat – the depths of the sea where there is little oxygen and the water above exerts enormous pressure.

Kubodera, a squid specialist, also filmed what he says was the first live video footage of a giant squid in 2006, but only from his boat after it was hooked and brought up to the surface.

“Researchers around the world have tried to film giant squid in their natural habitats, but all attempts were in vain before,” Kubodera said.

“With this footage we hope to discover more about the life of the species,” he said, adding that he planned to publish his findings soon.

Kubodera said the two successful sightings of the squid – last year and in 2006 – were both in the same area, 1 000km south of Tokyo, suggesting it could be a major habitat for the legendary species.

The giant squid, Architeuthis to scientists, is sometimes described as one of the last mysteries of the ocean, being part of a world so hostile to humans that it has been little explored.

Researchers say Architeuthis eats other types of squid and grenadier, a species of fish that lives in the deep ocean. They say it can grow to be longer than 10 metres.

NHK said it and the Discovery Channel were scheduled to air special documentaries on the find later this month. – Sapa-AFP