Help Protect the Giant Pacific Octopus - Sign the petition

[nwscubamom]

Divers in Washington state are initiating a request for Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to protect the Pacific NW's iconic Giant Pacific Octopus (GPO) at Seattle's Alki Cove 2, a popular dive site and recent location of a controversial GPO removal, and to explore expanding protection to other Puget Sound areas as well.

You don't need to be a diver to sign and voice your concerns. You also don't need to be a resident of Washington to sign this online petition.

(note there is a blurb at the end after you sign, asking for money, but that does NOT go to this effort, but for iPetitions instead, and you can just close out that window)

Petition Giant Pacific Octopus

Thanks for your time and consideration!

- Janna

 

[dumpsterDiver]

The petition is to seek a discontinuation of fishing for this species everywhere? Is that the intent? If so, why?

 

[nwscubamom]

The Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is the largest species of octopus in the world and an icon of the Pacific Northwest. Weighing over 150lbs and reaching lengths of up to 20 feet, divers travel from all across the globe for a chance to glimpse these majestic creatures in their natural habitat of Puget Sound.

Alki Seacrest Park, located a mere 2 miles from the Seattle City Center, is the epicenter of this budding diving ecotourism industry and is regularly home to 1-2 Giant Pacific Octopus, (or GPOs). Even more amazing, many of these very special GPOs nest and nurture between 50,000 and 100,000 eggs, which represent the future of this magnificent species.

Despite their incredible intelligence and beauty, however, current fishing regulations do very little to protect this species. Current regulations permit the harvest of one GPO a day year-round, meaning a single ambitious diver could effectively decimate the entire Alki GPO population in a matter of days.

Because of this, it is absolutely vital to the ecosystem of Puget Sound to protect this iconic creature, and the population residing at Seacrest Park represents an incredibly unique and valuable resource for divers and the city of Seattle alike. Protecting this population would empower visitors from around the world to visit and witness the majesty of our octopus population, educate the public about the importance of marine conservation, and establish Seattle as a world-class diving destination.

The Orca, the Sixgill Shark, the Wolf-eel – these are all iconic Pacific Northwest species that have earned the protection they deserve, and yet the Giant Pacific Octopus is conspicuously absent from this list.

We request that the Washington Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and/or the City of Seattle (1) establish a GPO harvest-free zone encompassing the marine environment surrounding Alki Seacrest Park, and (2) begin evaluating the long term consequences of limiting GPO harvesting in Washington State.

(NOTE: I am not posting this as an employee of REEF - this is a project I'm involved in on my own time.)

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Are you an employee of REEF?

 

[nwscubamom]

Yes, as my sigfile says, I am their Outreach Coordinator. My involvement with the GPO issue is something I'm doing on my own time. I didn't want anyone to be confused and think this was a REEF sponsored petition.

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Agreed.
I strongly believe they should be protected in the entire state.

~~~~~
Claudette

 

[mblazer]

I've signed the petition, and hope everyone on this board with a sense of decency will do the same.

 

[fisheater]

I signed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Yes, as my sigfile says, I am their Outreach Coordinator. My involvement with the GPO issue is something I'm doing on my own time. I didn't want anyone to be confused and think this was a REEF sponsored petition.

Janna: Did you write this petition? Did you inititate it?

 

[chrpai]

This is how liberals progressively take your rights away. They start of with "let's just protect cove 2 but exclude the fishing pier" and before you know it "let's protect the entire state of Washington". Who cares about the rights of the many when you have a "budding" (i.e. very few) group of people who want to have their way. And if you don't agree with them, the implication is that you personally are not a decent person.

From what I've read, GPO populations are very healthy and they are prolific predators. I wouldn't have a problem signing the petition if it was only for cove 2 but I can see what the end game is in this case.