The first of a two-part special video podcast on the Mass Spawning of Common Squid (Loligo opalescens) off the shores of California in the Pacific Ocean. A combination of historical images and more recent underwater footage, together with expert interviews, depict this incredible ocean wonder. In Part 1, the phenomenon is described by Dr. John McGowan, one of the very first scuba-diving scientists to study these mass spawning events. Dr. McGowan is now Professor Emeritus at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Dr. John Butler of the National Marine Fisheries Service discusses the unusual life-cycle of these intelligent animals.

Part 1 features underwater footage by Marty Snyderman, Mary Lynn Price and Bob Bayer. Still photographs of Blue Sharks among squid by Marty Snyderman.

Part 2 will focus on various predators that show up for squid spawnings, those strange red worms that grow among the squid egg cases, fascinating images of Baby Squid, and squid conservation issues.