They are reasonably common in the harbour, and the best time to catch them is before or after low tide on a calm day when it is easier to spot and land them.
Samoan fishers often clap their hands or knock their hooked poles against the inlet’s stone wall to attract the eight-legged ink fish, before hooking them and pulling them out.
Be warned — captured octopuses need to be put in a plastic bag or a bucket with a lid, otherwise they will try to escape.
Otago Harbour’s main species of octopus is Macroctopus maorum. It is New Zealand’s largest species of inshore octopus, growing to a span of up to 2m.
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Octopus emit a high pitched, low level 'scream'.
So how sustainable is this practice? Is there a daily limit? Andy Bay inlet should be a protected area for all wildlife.
These eight-legged marvels are intelligent! Like chimpanzees, crows, humans, and dolphins, octopuses also use tools. Veined octopuses carry coconut shells across the ocean floor before meticulously placing two halves together and climbing inside to hide. Blanket octopuses snatch poisonous tentacles from Portuguese men-of-war and wield them like swords. And mimic octopuses can impersonate more than 15 other species.
These intelligent beings are great escape artists, they’re genetic marvels, they change color to camouflage and communicate, they can operate a camera, they have good aim, they don’t enjoy being fenced in, and—without a doubt—they feel pain. Cephalopod expert Dr. Jennifer Mather explains that octopuses “can anticipate a painful, difficult, stressful situation—they can remember it. There is absolutely no doubt that they feel ”
Why is this happening ?
How many are starving to require the Andersons Bay inlet to be a food source, if this is acceptable then it follows that the return to eating seals & penguins is not far away.
We have supermarkets, butchers & fish suppliers so why destroy wildlife so close to built up areas.
As a much younger person attending Bayfield High School watching an Octopus pottering about on the inlet shore line was fascinating.
Please just leave them alone.
Just like any other type of fishing. Great to see people enjoying catching their own food to eat. Not something I personally would enjoy but good on you.