Man Drags Octopus Out of Ocean and Takes It Home for Dinner

[Faline]

A rising tide of outrage is forming after pictures emerged of a 20-year-old diver who dragged a giant Pacific octopus from its watery home and then killed and ate it for his friends art project.
Angry fellow divers from the shore of Seattle took photographs of Dylan Mayer proudly standing with the large octopus and then watched in disbelief as he and his friend tossed the still live 30 pound female onto the bed of his truck before driving off.
Their shock turned to horror as a grinning Mayer posted images of himself measuring the now dead octopus onto his Facebook account and now is in the position of having to justify to the diving community why he hunted the gentle and intelligent animal.
'As they were coming in you could tell the octopus was alive. It was writhing around and they were wrestling with it,' said Bob Bailey who witnessed Mayer bring the octopus to shore.
'It's just not done. It's bad form. Even if you can do it, you shouldn't do it.'
Local activists photographed Mr Mayer's catch and posted the photos on their website and urged outraged residents to sign a petition banning the harvesting of giant Pacific octopuses.
Admired by marine experts for their agile intelligence and ability to change colour to match their surroundings, the giant Pacific octopus is not protected but is not usually hunted for food.
However, Mayer defended his decision to catch the cephalopod, claiming that his friend needed his help.
'I eat it for meat. It's no different than fishing. It's just a different animal,' said Mayer to Komo News.

'He wanted me to get something from nature, so I got an octopus. I caught it, and then these divers came up and started yelling at me. I ignored them and ended up driving away.'
Thousands of scuba divers from across the world visit Puget Sound off the coast of Seattle in the hope of seeing the giant Pacific octopus.

'They’re incredibly intelligent, curious, very playful,' said avid diver Drew Collins.
The uproar caused by Mayer has led to the 20-year-old receiving dozens of threatening phone calls and abusive emails.
The wannabe rescue diver has said that he has been demonised by the local scuba community and has had to deny claims that the octopus was sitting on eggs when he captured her.
'That's not true. There were no eggs under it, and we checked,' said Mayer.
'I even had a game warden come over and look at it, and even they said there was no problem with it.'
In Washington state Octopus hunting is legal with a license and is limited to one a day, however Mayer admitted if he had the chance he would do things differently.
'I probably would have gone at a different time. I probably would have gone to another area of Cove Two,' he said.
'The bottom line is another octopus will move up into that area and take its place.'
The game warden who inspected the catch also said that that despite doing nothing wrong, Mayer could have acted with more sensitivity.

'I think the timing, manner and place where the harvest occurred may be the issue. It could have been done at a better time,' said Wendy Willette.
'It's like deer hunting. You don't kill a deer while kids are viewing it, and I think it's a similar problem here. You need to be sensitive to other drivers and people if you're going to be a sportsman.'
Indeed, Mayer told Komo News that he has now been banned from several diver shops in the Seattle area because of the octopus hunt.
He said that his dream of becoming a rescue-diver is in jeopardy because he has been banned from several diving schools because of his actions.

[kellyhound]

hope he didn't prepare the octo meat properly and his intestines are full with strange bacteria and worms.

[Rudebwoy]

Im sorry, but I dont get it.

...the giant Pacific octopus is not protected...

So what's the problem? Its everyday practice in Mediterranean countries, and I bet it is too in many other coastal countries.

[juliemd]

He caught an octopus and ate it. I don't get it. Next time get one from a less populated area maybe? I could see getting pissed off if he would have tortured it, but it was caught and eaten so whats the big deal?

[Brometheus]

that just looks nasty like intestines in the back of his truck..

[DiamondSmiles]

On one of those bizarre whatever shows, a guy was eating a live octopus. I can't eat something that is going to bite me back.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by Brometheus

that just looks nasty like intestines in the back of his truck..

Or worse!

[Xfactor]

Tough guy.

[Nite]

he was getting it for Flaka's dinner

[Rudebwoy]

I feel so small with all these blue/red nametags in this thread :D