A case of giant squid attack on Antarctic toothfish Dissostichus mawsoni Norman, 1937 (Perciformes, Nototheniidae) caught on bottom-set longline in the Ross Sea

In the beginning of February 2005, during the hauling of bottom-set longline in the Ross Sea (East Antarctic) from the depth of 1480 m to the surface a very large squid taken a large individual of Antarctic toothfish D. mawsoni (Norman, 1937) with a size of 160 cm and weight of 58 kg caught by a longline hook, was hauled up to the board of longliner VOLNA. Squid was very active and did not release its prey until under command of fish master it was beaten off by gaffs. Squid was not lifted aboard but it was registered with the use of photo- and video cameras. This allowed to determine its species belonging and size. On the opinion of the most competent specialist on squids in the Southern Hemisphere Yu.A. Philipova and our comparative observations this was giant squid Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni (Robson, 1925).