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Seafood Watch - Seafood Guide

Octopus

©Scandinavian Fishing Yearbook/www.scandfish.com
SEAFOODRATINGMARKET NAMESWHERE CAUGHTHOW CAUGHT
Octopus Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. He’e, Tako Hawaii Wild-caught
Octopus Good Alternative: These are good alternatives to the best choices column. There are some concerns with how they are fished or farmed – or with the health of their habitats due to other human impacts. Pulpo Gulf of California Wild-caught
Octopus, Common Avoid: Avoid these products for now. These fish come from sources that are overfished or fished or farmed in ways that harm the environment. Common Octopus, Tako Worldwide Wild-caught


Octopus, Hawaii

Octopuses are fast growing and produce numerous offspring. These traits, combined with a sustainable fishing method, make Hawaiian octopus a “Good Alternative.”

Summary

In Hawaii, octopus is mostly caught by spearfishing or by lure-and-line, where a lure with many hidden hooks is used to snare octopuses when they pounce. There is little bycatch associated with this technique.

There is limited management of octopus fisheries in Hawaiian waters so it’s unclear if octopuses are being overfished. It’s also extremely difficult to determine the population status of octopuses, as they hide in crevices and are masters of camouflage.

Only a fraction of the octopuses sold in Hawaii are caught locally. Octopuses caught in other parts of the world are often caught in bottom trawls, where nets are dragged across the seafloor. Trawling is problematic, causing habitat damage and catching large quantities of bycatch.

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