25-foot squid hauled in by east coast fishermen

This is no ordinary fish story.

Instead, it's about a giant squid.

Three fishermen spotted something weird – not to mention huge -- in the Atlantic Ocean off Jensen Beach on Florida's east coast on Sunday. And like many fishermen before them, they knew they had to bring the catch that was as big as their boat back to shore, or no one would believe them.

So they brought it to land and officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were called. There had been plans to bring it to St. Petersburg for a necropsy, but instead it was examined at a field office in Palm Beach County and then packed on ice, said Carli Segelson, spokeswoman for the agency.

From there, it was taken to Gainesville by representatives of the Florida Museum of Natural History, located at the University of Florida.

The squid measured just under 25 feet long – that's one heck of a lot of calamari.

"I don't think I ever want to see one of those alive," Segelson said. "It might be the last thing I ever see."

Plenty of scientists are checking it out now at the museum, where it is being preserved and will be studied for years to come.

"It's really a remarkable animal. It's so rarely seen," said John Slapcinsky, malacology collections manager at the museum. "This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about it."

Known as the Atlantic giant squid, the creatures live in water from several hundred feet deep to as much as 1,000 feet. They have a life span of only about three years and have been known to scar the faces of sperm whales who dare to tangle with them, Slapcinsky said.

The museum official said the squid normally rot quickly after their death, and that it is unusual to find them intact.

"We were really, really, really lucky," Slapcinsky said. "I'm going to write the fishermen a letter and thank them for what they did."