28-03-2007, 12:19 AM
500kg colossal squid - defrosting ain't easy
[url="http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1880208.htm"]http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1880208.htm[/url]
Quote:A colossal squid, caught by New Zealand fishermen last month is now officially the largest ever caught, after weighing in at just under 500 kilos.
But scientists who want to study it more closely face the challenge of how to thaw out the squid, which was frozen to preserve it during its journey from Antarctica to New Zealand's national museum in Wellington.
Scientists say the problem with leaving the 10 metre-long squid to defrost naturally is that the process would take several days and the outer tissue would rot while they waited for inner sections to thaw.
Steve O'Shea, one of the world's leading squid experts, has told the New Zealand Herald one solution under consideration was putting it in a giant microwave oven.
He says there are certain microwave equivalents that are used by industry for treating timber that the squid could probably fit into.
Its gender has not yet been determined, but it is suspected to be a female.
[url="http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1880208.htm"]http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1880208.htm[/url]