GPO at Redondo

[Pinkpadigal]

I heard a rumor that the Seattle Aquarium came and took the big GPO from Redondo this last week. I dove there last Tuesday night and he was there. Is there any truth to the rumor?

[cardiver]

I heard that today also. The octo was not there last Thursday night....

[Dusty2]

Lets just say he is gone.... and we have no idea where. there are still two there though if you know where to look.

[Sounder]

Anyone want to ask the aquarium? I'd be surprised if they took one from such a popular site, but you never know - they've got a method to their madness. If it is now residing at the aquarium, we can go visit it there!!

[selkie]

It is a conspiracy to lower the gpo count this weekend.

[Dusty2]

Well this weekend is there big GPO show at the aquarium and they are going to release one after they try to mate them???

[divemaster08]

how do they just show up and take him? wouldn't you think that someone saw this? how do you suppose they pulled it off?

[BASSMAN]

I agree with Sounder...ask them!

http://www.seattleaquarium.org/NetCommu ... Doc?id=497

Eighth annual giant Pacific octopus census 2/16-2/18. Puget Sound divers are asked to search for and report all octopus sightings to Aquarium staff over the three day weekend.

Then they can go snach them up and do wierd scientific experiments to them...
:smt038

Just kidding!

[Nwbrewer]

how do they just show up and take him? wouldn't you think that someone saw this? how do you suppose they pulled it off?

My guess would be with a permit and a sack.......

[Grateful Diver]

Anyone want to ask the aquarium? I'd be surprised if they took one from such a popular site, but you never know - they've got a method to their madness. If it is now residing at the aquarium, we can go visit it there!!

Yeah, sure ... we can go pay $10 to see an animal we've been seeing for free. Only now instead of seeing it in its natural environment, we can see it behind a piece of glass.

Last Tuesday I was in contact with one of the Aquarium's biologists regarding the lumpsuckers I've been finding at Redondo. During the course of the conversation he asked me if I've been seeing any GPO's at Redondo. Thinking he was asking because of the upcoming octopus count, I described the three residents and told him where to find them.

Two days later, the most accessible one disappears. You put two and two together ... that octopus has been there reliably for over a year. Now it's no longer accessible to the hundreds of divers who have been visiting it ... including new divers for whom it has been a special thrill. The other two are deeper (out of range of new divers) and less visible.

I've no complaint about the Aquarium taking specimens ... in fact, I'd happily offer any assistance I can. But I'm pretty upset about how this went down. They shouldn't be taking the most accessible attractions from one of the most popular dive sites in the state. If they want to create hard feelings with the dive community, I can't think of a more effective way to accomplish it.

The biologist also turned down my offer to show him where the lumpsuckers were. He told me they were dispatching a team to the San Juan Islands this week-end to go find some there. Now I learn that they were down in the bottle field over the week-end, looking right where I told them to. The message I take from that is "Thanks for the info, now get lost."

I couldn't possibly be more disappointed ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Pinkpadigal]

Thanks for the info. One of the members of my staff is a volunteer and is looking into it for me as well.

[Dusty2]

how do they just show up and take him? wouldn't you think that someone saw this? how do you suppose they pulled it off?

They they didn't pull it off without being seen. That's the rub. I cannot say for sure they did take it but things point that direction. It was there Tuesday night. they were there wed. morning collecting something and I personally saw them collecting that something at the upper boat stirring up allot of silt and when we checked a short time later he was gone and so were they. They said prior to entering the water that they were looking for PSL's but didn't seem real interested in gathering info on where I might have seen them and they didn't go any deeper than the upper boat and only were in the water for maybe 20 min. To me that sez they knew what they were after and where to find it and it wasn't PSL's.

[Phineas Gage]

Seems crazy to me to drive all the way to Redondo for a GPO. I mean, from what I understand it doesn't take more than a few degrees in temperature change over a short timespan to really stress one of those animals to the point of death.

So they would have had to bag it, get it out of the water and to an insulated container of some kind, and then drive all the way back to Seattle without inadvertantly killing the poor beast. And even if it didn't die outright, I would imagine the stress of the whole ordeal would cause it to die eventually, most likely sooner than it would have if left alone in it's home.

Why not just sink a few small boats or other habitat out behind the aquarium and wait for the inevitable? Then it would just be a short trip to a holding tank filled with the same water the animal came out of.

These are scientists, right? Don't they want to keep the number of variables to a minimum?

[Jaksonbrown]

Granted I am new to the PNW diving and the critters here, ... but was this a full grown GPO? You can just reach in and grab it and stuff it in a bag?? I saw a video on youtube of a GPO taking out a shark! I cannot imagine pissin a full grown GPO off much less trying to stuff him in a bag. I highly dissagree with what has happened here, I hope the GPO got in a few good licks.

[BigFameOne]

Hmmm, if I am not mistaken a few NWDC members are in some way affiliated with the Seattle Aquarium, might they have any info to share?

[Sounder]

Granted I am new to the PNW diving and the critters here, ... but was this a full grown GPO? You can just reach in and grab it and stuff it in a bag?? I saw a video on youtube of a GPO taking out a shark! I cannot imagine pissin a full grown GPO off much less trying to stuff him in a bag. I highly dissagree with what has happened here, I hope the GPO got in a few good licks.

Yes, it could be considered ill-advised to try to grab a full-grown GPO as a diver... remember, if your reg comes out, you can't breathe.

Worth saying again - for those who know how the aquarium collects their specimens, please keep those techniques to yourself as we don't need people trying their own hand at it.

[Sounder]

I agree that taking a reliable GPO from a shallow area (accessible to all divers) was in poor form. Taking one from Redondo (popular dive site) at all seems in poor form, but taking the shallow one is especially bad.

Bob's experience with the PSL's and what not sucks too. It somewhat violates the trust I have with the Aquarium. Why would I report interesting critters just to have them removed?

I'm all for the Aquarium and I thoroughly enjoy going there... but there is enough of Puget Sound for them to take specimens from that they shouldn't need to take them from popular dive sites.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me... twice....uh, you can't get fooled again."

[Tangfish]

Are you serious? I had no idea that the aquarium kidnapped local marine life for exhibits/experiments/whatever. That's really lame.

I don't think that having the GPO as an attraction *for us* is a good reason for the aquarium to leave it alone; I think that it should be left alone because it should be left alone!

Does anyone know if it's even legal for the aquarium to snatch animals like this?

[sheahanmcculla]

Granted I am new to the PNW diving and the critters here, ... but was this a full grown GPO? You can just reach in and grab it and stuff it in a bag?? I saw a video on youtube of a GPO taking out a shark! I cannot imagine pissin a full grown GPO off much less trying to stuff him in a bag. I highly dissagree with what has happened here, I hope the GPO got in a few good licks.

I believe in the past dive shops would sponsor octo wrestling competitions, they would see who could find the biggest one and bring it to the beach. I think it was pretty common, only lately has the views changed so much. I even think they used to free dive for them up by Deception Pass, using cotton long johns and vasaline as wet suits....crazy!

[DiverBob]

I was disappointed on Thursday's dive when I looked under the boat and found only a beer can. If they did take the GPO, that is very poor form. I hope that they did not do this.

[Sounder]

Does anyone know if it's even legal for the aquarium to snatch animals like this?

For octopus, all it takes is a fishing license. I could go use legal techniques to take a GPO from a popular dive site this afternoon if I wanted to. As for their other collecting, they have permits where necessary.

I think the Aquarium has a responsibility to the diving community not to take animals from popular sites when there are plenty of other places for them to do so. Of course they can take them from wherever they wish within the bounds of the law, but I believe some places are better than others from a courtesy and good-will angle.

[Tangfish]

If we can actually get some details and facts about this, as well as confirmation that it happened, I may actually be able to devote some news coverage to it.

[Grateful Diver]

I sent a letter to the Aquarium this morning ... but to be honest, I don't expect a response. It wouldn't be in their best interest to 'fess up to this if, in fact, they did it.

On the other hand, I will seriously hesitate to cooperate with them in the future. In the past we've learned not to advertise the location of GPO's because of morons harvesting them from dive sites. I think now we can put the SA in the same category.

Yeah ... I'm pretty upset that they'd use information they got from me in this manner. Here's the text of the letter I sent them this morning (with names removed to protect the potentially innocent) ...

Good morning ...

My name is Bob Bailey, and I am a local scuba diving instructor. I would like to be contacted by someone with some authority to discuss how, and why, you folks are harvesting octopus from a popular local dive site. If you are trying to alienate the local diving community, I can't think of a more effective way to go about it.

Last Tuesday, Feb. 03, I was exchanging some e-mails with one of your biologists ... (name removed) ... regarding some Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers I had been finding at Redondo. I told him where they were, and offered to show him, because one of your volunteers had indicated that they were interested in collecting some specimens for the Aquarium. (name removed) told me they were indeed collecting PSL's, but that they were dispatching a team to the San Juan Islands for that purpose. He then asked me if I'd seen any GPO's at the site. Considering your upcoming octopus count, I figured that's why he wanted the information. So I told him about the three residents, described their approximate size, and where they were located.

The next day, a team from the Aquarium was seen at Redondo ... at the den of the most shallow of the three. The report that has now been circulated on local diving Internet forums is this ...

They they didn't pull it off without being seen. That's the rub. I cannot say for sure they did take it but things point that direction. It was there Tuesday night. they were there wed. morning collecting something and I personally saw them collecting that something at the upper boat stirring up allot of silt and when we checked a short time later he was gone and so were they. They said prior to entering the water that they were looking for PSL's but didn't seem real interested in gathering info on where I might have seen them and they didn't go any deeper than the upper boat and only were in the water for maybe 20 min. To me that sez they knew what they were after and where to find it and it wasn't PSL's.

So your collection team was seen going directly to the site of the most accessible attraction at one of the most popular dive sites in the state ... and harvesting an octopus that has lived in that den for the better part of a year. You've denied that sight to hundreds of divers who use that site regularly ... including brand new divers, who until your team took it away had rare access to one of the most wondrous creatures in Puget Sound at a relatively shallow depth.

I cannot believe that the Seattle Aquarium would do such a thing ... but I also cannot believe, given my conversation with (name removed), and the subsequent witnessing by a fellow diver the next day, that the Aquarium didn't send its team down to collect this animal. I am really disappointed.

The Seattle Aquarium has diving resources available to it to collect their animals from just about anywhere in Puget Sound ... popular dive sites should be off-limits to your collection teams.

Right now there are some hard feelings out there because of this ... mine not the least, because I provided you with the information to do it. I feel betrayed.

In the past the dive community has learned not to share information about the creatures we see, because of the poachers who would go harvest them. Unfortunately, now we have to take the same approach with the Seattle Aquarium. That's a real shame.

I would dearly love to believe there is another explanation ... and I would love to hear it from the people you sent to Redondo last Wednesday.

Regards ...

... Bob Bailey

[Sounder]

If we can actually get some details and facts about this, as well as confirmation that it happened, I may actually be able to devote some news coverage to it.

I suppose a call to the Aquarium would be the best place to start. I'm wondering though if news coverage might be counter productive in drawing attention to GPOs being at popular dive sites.

If they did collect the GPO in question, perhaps some communication from divers expressing their opinions (politely) might be more productive to what we're interested in accomplishing?

I can argue it both ways.

[Sounder]

That's an excellent letter Bob.