Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland

Two Marine Institute graduate students are cruising the waters off Antarctica in search of the elusive colossal squid.

Jennifer Herbig and Eugenie Jacobsen are part of an international expedition aiming to film the world’s largest invertebrate in its natural habitat in the Southern Ocean.

The goal is to document the colossal squid on film before the 100th anniversary of its 1925 discovery, learn more about it and raise awareness of the need for conservation in Antarctica.

Two-week voyage

“I’m super excited to be part of this Antarctica project. Very little is known about the colossal squid and its population size,” said Ms. Herbig in an interview prior to the expedition.

“Capturing the colossal squid on film and seeing them in the wild – that’s what will be really exciting,” said Ms. Jacobsen.

Their two-week voyage began earlier this month in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern-most tip in South America and launch point for the expedition on board the adventure cruise ship Ocean Endeavour.

The team will survey locations near the Antarctic Peninsula – deploying a tethered, deep-sea camera system designed by Clarenville-based SubC Imaging to a maximum water depth of 500 metres.

Learn more in the Gazette.