15 April, 2015. 14:15

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

WATSONS BAY HAS cemented itself once again as the Sydney squid mecca after a record 57kg Architeuthis was caught by a local spear-fisherman overnight.

Nabbed just of Greens Point, which separates the more working class Watsons Bay with more prestigious Camp Cove, the squid has smashed the existing Australian record by more than 20kg.

An Architeuthis is commonly known as a Giant Squid and is relatively rare in Australian waters during this time of the year.


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The catch was verified by a team of marine biologists and zoologists from the CSIRO and Taronga Zoo, respectively.

Buoyed by the overnight discovery, lead biologist with the government scientific body, Ryan Mitchell says that the discovery of a giant squid inside Sydney Harbour is “incredible”

“Not in a million years would I believe that a giant squid could be speared inside the harbour,” he said.

“This discovery is groundbreaking – I’ve been fielding calls from around the world all morning about it,”

“Even one local fishmonger in Watsons Bay wants to buy it – said he wants to make calamari the size of a truck tyre.”

watsonsbaysquid
The anonymous local fisherman who speared the record squid near Watsons Bay, NSW. PHOTO: Douglas Endersbee/Fairfax

Bertie Tenneyson has lived in the exclusive Sydney enclave of Camp Cove for most of his life – and even old Bert agrees that this is the biggest squid he’s ever seen pulled from the Harbour.

“The boys thought they’d caught something big when we had the submarine net across the heads during the war,” he said.

“Turns out it actually was a submarine,”

“But this squid is probably a quarter of the size of a midget sub – truly astounding.”

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Alex D, I strongly agree with you.
    Not only is Spear fishing with Dive equipment illegal in NSW, the area of Watsons Bay is also a restricted zone for spear fishing.

    This article states that Taronga Zoo and CSIRO were involved in verifying the species and size, however, does not state that NSW Fisheries were involved in issuing heavy fines.

    If Taronga Zoo and CSIRO were involved they would know Watsons bay to be a restricted zone and would have contacted the Fisheries.

    REF: http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/329319/Factsheet-737.pdf

    Ref: Look at the picture, see the spearos face, yes that is a full face dive mask with regulator!

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