Humboldt squid, Dosidicus gigas, are voracious predators that can grow to over two meters (6.5 feet) long. They hunt in large numbers along the coasts of both North and South America, from Chile to Baja California. They have occasionally been spotted as far north as San Francisco, but in the late 2000s they moved north from equatorial waters and were abundant off Central California, where they decimated populations of Pacific hake, an important commercial fish. Learn more about MBARI research on