A giant squid measuring nearly 11 feet long is caught alive in a fishing net in western Japan.<br /><br />According to the Tottori prefecture fishing cooperative, the squid was caught on Monday evening off the prefecture's coast, when fishermen were trawling for flatfish and crabs. <br /><br />The squid measured 11 feet long, and was found missing both its longest tentacles. <br />Though it was caught alive, the squid died before reaching shore on Tuesday. <br /><br />Local residents said they immediately wondered how many people the 220 pound squid could feed if cut into sashimi. <br /><br />Unfortunately the ammonium content of the squid is said to make it rather unpleasant to eat. <br /><br />According to the San'in Kaigan Nature Museum in Tottori, the squid could have measured around 26 feet had its tentacles been intact. <br /><br />The museum said giant squids are known to inhabit deep sea waters between 980 feet to 4,920 feet, but the giant squid was caught 790 feet underwater. <br /><br />In an interview with broadcaster NTV, researcher Toshifumi Wada noted that giant squids are rarely caught during trawl fishing. <br /><br />"This shows that the squid was swimming at that depth, so I think this is significant" he said. <br /><br />Tottori prefecture is making plans to preserve the squid for research purposes. <br /><br />The case follows a series of reports of giant squids found near Japan's coastline. <br /><br />A dead giant squid was reported to have washed ashore a beach in Kashiwazaki city in Niigata prefecture last Sunday. <br /><br />Earlier this month, two other giant squids have been reported to be caught in fixed fishing nets - one was found off Sado city in Niigata prefecture, and another in Toyama prefecture. <br /><br /><br /><br />Get the latest headlines http://www.telegraph.co.uk/<br /><br />Subscribe to The Telegraph http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=telegraphtv<br /><br />Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/telegraph.co.uk<br />Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/telegraph<br />Follow us on Google+ https://plus.google.com/102891355072777008500/<br /><br />Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Daily Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.
