Matt Mulrennan

Matt Mulrennan

Oct 04, 2022

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YOU Fully Funded our Researchers Travel and Insurance in Less Than 24 Hrs! A Colossal Thanks, and a New Stretch Goal for Some Squid Attracting Lights

It's official - because of you, yes you, we are able to book flights and insure the equipment and scientists in order to go to Antarctica and search for the colossal squid!!! It's all finally coming together. I have been using the word floored as a reaction to this incredible and immediate response. You have to be squidding me that together we reached $5000 in less than 24 hrs from the launch. There is only one clip that summarizes my exact mood and it's via Wayne's World:


Admittedly, I was pretty nervous this weekend pre-launch that we wouldn't even get to this point in 45 days. Maybe I underestimated you, and the oversized interest in the mysteries of the colossal squid. Thank you so much from myself, the KOLOSSAL team, and our partners. It's truly amazing how you made this happen. Only 1% of all philanthropy goes to the ocean, it's the least funded of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals so it's huge that you supported this. This expedition is and always has been a volunteer effort and your donations are going straight to the core costs - travel, technology, and insurance.

Because of you we can get to Antarctica and have a great camera rig, but now let's talk about finding the squid with some high tech flashing lights.

We have the camera, white and red lights, mount, weights, tether, winch, and crane established and donated by SubC Imaging - a huge effort. And our next big update will be after this weekend during the rush by the SubC team to install it and load gear onto the Ocean Endeavour operated by Intrepid Travel while it is docked for just a few hours in St. Johns, Canada before it heads south for the Southern Ocean tours.

We know we can get cameras deep using this system, but we need ways to attract the squid and film it in order to study it. It's possible the colossal squid is attracted to flashing blue and light green LED lights. This is a common technique for attracting squid, and it's actually the first way that the giant squid was photographed in the deep sea, with a green, glowing squid lure deployed by Dr. Tsunemi Kubodera repeatedly from fishing boats. We have also been in discussion with the team that found and filmed video of the giant squid using similar flashy lights like the one below, and debating the ins and outs about light attraction devices for colossal. It's unclear if its massive eyes are used in defense, trying to avoid bioluminescence in the wake of prowling sperm whales. On the other hand we know they are attracted to and will bite dead or dying toothfish wriggling on longlines, which may also disturb the waters and create bioluminescence.

Pisces is a kit of 10 high tech flashing LED lights that have been scientifically tested to attract ocean animals. We want to use them to possibly attract a really big squid.

So we want to try both techniques. Baiting a line with a big dead fish, and using trusted lighted lures under both red light (many ocean animals don't see red light) and white lights to see what we can attract into view. The high tech lighting tool we want to use for the attraction is called the Pisces, it is a selective fish attraction device, meant to target specific commercial fish species and reduce bycatch (unwanted fish that are caught, and a major ocean conservation issue). It can go to the depths we want - 500 meters, it is rechargeable and will last for hundreds of hours so we don't have to worry about batteries failing, it is water activated so we can't forget to turn it on, it swaps between ten different kinds of lights, and it comes with scientific and technical support to coach us on best techniques - adding in friends from the UK, to the squid squad from Canada, Australia, and the U.S.

The bill for the high tech deep sea lights. Converted to USD is $4611.48. This is after a nice discount.

In 24 hrs from launch we already have 33 amazing backers of this campaign with an average donation of $151, but there are a few hundred views of the crowdfunder page - and that number isn't just me refreshing. So we hope we can get 33 more generous backers like you in the next 44 days and achieve our next big goal: $9611.48. Why so specific? Because the lights cost 4025 GBP, converted today this is $4611.48. It's a big goal, for a big squid.

For the stretch goal we will get every dollar in addition that is now funded, guaranteed, since we hit our original target. And it's possible we could get matching support from the Experiment Foundation's ocean solutions grant - of up to $5,000, which is more likely if we can raise close to $10,000. So let's impress them.

It would be amazing if you can try to double your impact and recruit one more amazing backer just like you in the next 44 days - a text or email or dare I say a real human conversation with a couple of close friends could go a long way. Hell, if needed give them my phone number. Posts to social media are also super appreciated.

Let's #GetKraken together on some stretch goals.

AGAIN THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH EARLY BACKERS: Maureen HuelsenbeckLeeAlaina ParianoPhilip Bradley BellEllen & KCThomas VanikPeter BrannenWilliam MulrennanEric KnightZaria FormanAlexandra EllisonBarberinoErin CookTony StrickerBenjamin StaffordJim MatthewsJean LeeGarrett P RichardsonMegan BettilyonHoward MillerJon FrankMarianne HoltermannAlexander CampbellMichael GardnerJessica DownesSasha PrellMichael Prell, and David Lang

For the ocean,

Matt


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    Nico Ray
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    Sep 16, 2024

About This Project

We are launching a multi-year expedition to film a colossal squid in the deep sea for the first time off Antarctica to learn about its basic biology/behavior. With deep sea cameras we are surveying for the colossal squid to answer key questions about the species such as; how large they grow, most preferred habitats, the use of its massive eye, how it exhibits bioluminescence, and its conservation status.

Blast off!

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