Squid Found in Seldovia Bay

Stephen Payton writes,

During Seldovia Village Tribes "Culture Camp" a group of children found a small squid near Harmony point in upper Seldovia Bay. The squid may have been alive but appeared to be dying or unhealthy. The next day during a trip to Hoen's Lagoon at the mouth of Seldovia Bay another squid was found dead on the outer beach. Squid are occasionally found in the area but not often. These appear to be juvenile squid.

LEO says:

According to the 2010 Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Fishery Management Plan,15 species of squid are found in the eastern Bering Sea (pg 1448). It is possible that the Gulf of Alaska waters are home to some of the species as well. The GOA Fishery Management plan acknowledges that more research is needed to determine which species of squid, and in what life stage, are found in the Gulf of Alaska. We have forwarded this post to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Sea Grant, Marine Advisory Program (MAP) agent, in the event that a consult can be provided based on the photo. M. Tcheripanoff

Ocean Integrity Research Consult:

Tom Okey, Owner and President writes, Squid (cephalopods of the order Teuthida) are a taxa that appear to be very responsive to changes in ocean conditions related to climate change and associated phenomena such as "the Blob" in the North Pacific, which was an area of the North Pacific Ocean with anomalously high temperatures and low nutrients that emerged in 2013. Given these recent oceanographic changes in the North Pacific, it is not surprising that various squid species would shift their distributions and timing quickly, given the opportunistic, highly mobile, and ephemeral life histories and strategies of these omnivorous predators. The increasing observations of novel squid species observations in the North Pacific is a generally predictable outcome of recent oceanographic changes, while the specific details of these responses are somewhat unpredictable. In a 2014 review on the effects of climate change in Canada's Pacific Marine ecosystems (Okey et al. 2014), we discussed observed changes in one squid species, the Humboldt Squid, based on previous literature: "Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) increased in abundance in the California Current, including the southern section of Canada’s Pacific waters, between 2002 and 2006 (Brodeur et al. (2006), Cosgrove (2005), DFO (2008b), Field et al. (2007), Trudel et al. (2006)). D. gigas may have extended its range northward in response to changes in temperature, and such squid appear more strongly controlled by bottom-up forcing than by predators (Watters et al. 2008)" But again, these are just one species of squid that likely responded to recent oceanographic changes. On Karen Johnson's Facebook Group "Unusual Marine Life of Alaska," which has +458 members, she has posted a Google Map of Squid observations in Alaskan waters that she wants people to contribute to:

• Alaska Squid Observations – Map used to track Market Squid and other squid sightings in Alaska. Blue=Market squid.Orange= other squid species.

• Alaska Pyrosoma atlanticum Observations – Locations and other details of Pyrosome sightings in Alaska waters beginning in 2017.

She has also posted these maps to the Facebook group "West Coast Fisherman."

Resources:

Craig Medred. Unusual species in Alaska waters indicate parts of Pacific warming dramatically. Alaska Dispatch News. (Updated: September 28, 2016 | Published September 14, 2014)