Kiwi scientist wants to rear giant squid in captivity
February 3rd, 2010 - 5:19 pm ICT by ANIMelbourne, Feb 3 (ANI): A New Zealand scientist is attempting to break his own world record for keeping a giant squid alive in captivity.
The project is a warm-up for Steve O’Shea from Auckland’s AUT University, whose main goal is to one day raise a giant squid in a tank.
Earlier attempts in 2000 saw him reach the 150-day mark for one squid species which lives at 300-metres below sea level.
“The broad squid is very difficult to rear in captivity due to its 3mm size on hatching and the complex changes in diet over the first 60 days of life, but it brings me one step closer to the end game - growing a giant,” the Courier Mail quoted O’Shea as saying.
He collected the squid eggs from seaweed in the Hauraki Gulf, near Auckland, and was rearing them in a tank at Auckland University of Technology.
“The end game is to improve our understanding of these deep-sea creatures and how to keep them alive in captivity so that we can experience some of the more exotic, bizarre and fantastic squid that frequent our waters,” O’Shea said.
He has set up SQUIDCAM so that enthusiasts from around the world can monitor his progress online. (ANI)
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Tags: 3mm, auckland, captivity, courier mail, deep sea creatures, eggs, end game, enthusiasts, giant squid, hauraki gulf, kiwi, main goal, o shea, sea level, seaweed, squid, steve o, university of technology, world record, zealand scientist