Two local fishermen, Dennis Denton and Jonathan Arch are on their way to the Smithsonian Institution’s preserved cephalopod research collection in Washington D.C.

The reason? They found two rare giant species of squid (Asperoteuthis xanthoderma) that were dead floating on the surface of Cayman’s waters.

Denton explained how he and his friends in September 2009 were “trolling along a weed line about 1.5 miles north of the Rum Point channel when they noticed something in the water ahead of them. As they went past they realised it was a 6 foot dead squid floating just below the surface.

The second squid was caught more recently by Arch.

The squids were sent to the Department of Environment (DoE) and when research officer Dr. Janice Blumenthal received them she contacted cephalopod experts in the United States, Earth2Ocean (E2O), for verification of the species.

The E2O Group was formed in 2010 to tackle global environmental problems through interdisciplinary collaborative science. Their studies of aquatic ecology and conservation range from tropical reef ecosystems to the rivers and wetlands of Alaska.

E2O then connected DoE with the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and Royal Caribbean cruise line agreed to transport the squid from Grand Cayman to Port Canaveral, Fla.

Dr. Heather Judkins, a Cephalopod specialist at the University will collect the squid and document them with measurements and photography.

All this is happening this week.

Once she has completed her work the squids will make their final journey to the Smithsonian Institution.

Dr. Blumenthal praised the Royal Caribbean staff for arranging the transfer and said they were “extremely efficient in arranging the complex logistics of transporting the rare squid aboard their ship and importing them into the United States – though this was of course the first time any of us had attempted this.”

Members of the public can report sightings of large sea creatures including dolphins, whales, sharks, manta rays, adult turtles with greater than a three–feet shell length, and giant squid, to a DOE database by calling 949–8469 or emailing [email protected].

Related story:

Royal Caribbean helps transport giant squid to museum

From Royal Caribbean Blog

There was one giant guest aboard a recent Royal Caribbean cruise that probably stuck out from all the other guests considering it was 6.5 feet long and tentacles.

Two rare giant species of squid are on their way to the Smithsonian Institution’s preserved cephalopod research collection in Washington DC.  The effort is a joint collaboration between Royal Caribbean, Department of Environment and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

The squid, which are about two metres long, are described by local scientists as being in excellent condition and will provide important scientific data as these two deep sea cephalopod species are rarely encountered as adults.

Dr Janice Blumenthal was happy with the assistance Royal Caribbean provided to allow for the specimens to be studied further, “It was a pleasure to work with all the Royal Caribbean staff to arrange this unique transfer. They were extremely efficient in arranging the complex logistics of transporting the rare squid aboard their ship and importing them into the United States – though this was of course the first time any of us had attempted this.”

For more on this story go to:

http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2013/10/23/royal-caribbean-helps-transport-giant-squid-museum