Fisherfolk can be tremendous founts of information about marine animals. They know where to find different species, what sort of baits they like best, what sizes to expect, and how all these things change with the seasons. Smart marine biologists spend a lot of time talking with fishers and learning from them.

That said, fishers can sometimes draw rather curious conclusions from what they observe. Here's an excerpt from a recent article by well-known angler and fishing writer Charley Soares:

During some of the recent seasons, I have received reports of jumbo squid, some up to 2 feet in length, attacking the jigs fished under the glow of the causeway light or lanterns hung close to the water. Most of the squid that many of us are familiar with are the young of the year, which measure from 3 to 5 inches, but every now and then there are some holdovers that have grown to a really impressive size.

Holdovers? My first thought, on hearing that two-foot squid have been caught in areas where three to five inches is the norm, would be to suggest that the two-footers are a different, less common species.

However, Soares is writing about the longfin squid Loligo pealei, a species which can, at its largest, reach fifteen inches in mantle length. Add a head, arms, and a soupçon of fishing enthusiasm, and you've easily got a two-foot squid.

But it could just as easily be a different species of squid, most likely the shortfin squid Illex illecebrosus. Fortunately, these two species are as easy to distinguish as their names suggest: Loligo has shorter fins relative to its body length than Illex. Unfortunately, the article did not include photographs to satisfy the minds of inquiring readers . . .

Loligo pealei, the longfin squid

Illex illecebrosus, the shortfin squid