Nearly 4,000 people have signed a petition to outlaw the harvesting of giant Pacific octopus off Alki, after two divers released pictures last week of another diving pair emerging from a popular dive spot with a live, giant Pacific octopus and throwing it in the back of their truck. Noting that Alki's Seacrest Park is "regularly home to 1-2 Giant Pacific Octopus (GPOs)," the petition points out that people are only restricted to harvesting one octopus a day, "meaning a single ambitious diver could effectively decimate the entire Alki GPO population in a matter of days."
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.
And here's a closeup look at the giant pacific octopi that call Cove 2 home:
