NHK captures first-ever giant squid images

Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, its production affiliate NHK Enterprises, Inc., andthe US-based Discovery Channel have succeeded in capturing the world’s first-ever video images of a giant squid in its natural deep-ocean habitat.

For the last 10 years, NHK, with the National Museum of Nature and Science of Japan have been investigating the giant squid and researching ways of capturing it on video. As a culmination of the 10-year project, NHK made a special provision for deep-sea filming expedition using a manned submersible.

A special ultra sensitive high definition camera was developed to operate at great depths and use a special light that has a specific wavelength invisible to the sensitive giant squid eye. The camera was placed on board a state of the art, clear domed submersible, which made about 100 dives totaling 400 hours in the summer of 2012.

During a dive, zoologist Dr. Kubodera, NHK cameraman, and the submersible pilot at the depth of 630 meters, they came face to face with the giant squid and followed it to a depth of 900 meters.

Hiromichi Iwasaki, Executive Producer of NHK Enterprises expresses his excitement, “We are thrilled to be able to bring TV viewers the first‐ever video images of a live giant squid. It is the result of more than a decade of hard work accumulating details about this creature from research institutes and the local fishermen. It really is a thrilling payoff of the patient work, and we are happy to be able to share it with the world.”

NHK will be the first broadcaster to air the stunning images of the giant squid on January 13, 2013 in their prime time documentary slot under the title “Legends of the Deep: Giant Squid”. Discovery Channel’s broadcast will follow on January 27 under the title “Giant Squid: The Monster is Real”.