SAN DIEGO -- Hundreds of Humboldt squid washed up on Black's Beach over the weekend.

Hundreds Of Squid Wash Up On Black's Beach

Humboldt Squid Appeared Saturday Afternoon, Washed Out Sunday Morning

SAN DIEGO -- Hundreds of Humboldt squid washed up on Black's Beach over the weekend.San Diego lifeguard Sgt. Ben Lewis said the squid rode the tide in on Saturday afternoon."It was quite a scene to see with the beach strewn with hundreds of dead and dying squid," said Lewis.

Lewis said the squid were each about a foot long and appeared to weigh a few pounds. He added that it was much more than just a sight."Of course, as you might imagine, there were some odors associated with that," he said. "The only thing left on the beach right now is the scent of dead squid and seagull footprints."The squid, which are native to South America and can grow to be six feet, appeared on the beach Saturday afternoon until early Sunday morning, when high tide washed away all but 50 of the squid.Lewis said seagulls flocked to feast on the remaining dead squid.Linsey Sala of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography said the sight may not be as unusual as many may think."We have experienced strandings like this and even further on our coast in California," she said.Sala said other large schools of squid were discovered on the San Diego shore back in 2002 and 2005.How and why the stranding happened remains a mystery."To be perfectly honest, I don't have a definitive answer for that, but what I do know is that there is research going on looking at what these animals might be affected by," said Sala.Some of the possible factors researchers are investigating include food, red tides and climate change.Scientists at the Scripps Institute said similar events seem to happen every few years.