Then the usefulness of various morphological traits can be determined by seeing how the giant squid interacts with its environment. Although there are various accounts of giant squid attacks on people and ships from literature of the 19th century, these accounts are likely highly exaggerated. Architeuthis is probably slow and unaggressive. Its muscles are soft and spongy, and its fins are relatively small and weak. The musculature used for jet propulsion is less powerful than that of smaller squid, which are known as powerful swimmers.
Giant squid are probably big cruisers rather than the fast, powerful swimmers of monster folklore.
Yes, the numbers of giant squid specimens have picked up recently. Starting in 1984 the pace of deep fishing has increased, and fishermen have started going after exotic fish such as Hoki, ling and orange in New Zealand waters. Fishermen began occasionally hauling up giant squid that were apparently feeding on dense schools of fish at depths ranging between 1,000 and 4,000 feet. A system of reporting was developed so that scientists at the New Zealand Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research learned of the catches and often received body parts or whole carcasses to study.