Cluster of diamond squid eggs seen floating amid plastic waste

Reuters

Heartbreaking footage shows rare sight of cluster of diamond squid eggs floating amid plastic waste.

A long cluster of diamond squid eggs was filmed off Bunaken National Park in Sulawesi, Indonesia in May 2019 floating amid plastic waste.

This rare sight - which resembles a long slinky toy – is actually a mass of thousands of pink eggs all moving together.

But the mesmerising sight is brought into stark reality as it floats with the current in a stream of plastic waste. Meanwhile, a shoal of curious red-toothed triggerfish feasting on the structure.

The diamond-shaped squid, also known as thysanoteuthis rhombus, lives in tropical waters and the egg mass can measure up to two metres in length.

"It was sinking deeper down the steep walls of the coral reef, so they couldn't follow it," the filmer told Newsflare.

"Later, when they came up from the dive, they saw the same strange thing (or another of its kind) again, floating in a stream of plastic waste. It is thought that at least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, polluting the seas around the globe. This weird creature ended up floating with the same currents."