Removal of GPO limbs for food

JCFish

Pygmy Octopus
Registered
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
10
I recently had a seminar on Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Tsawout First Nations group on Vancouver Island, Canada. And one of the interesting things I was told was that when harvesting GPOs, which they still do today, they only cut off one or two arms. The man who was speaking of this said that this had no effect on the individual's life (doubtful) and that they would regrow it soon. I have heard of cephs regrowing limbs, but would most or all of the GPOs likely recover from having them cut off? And how long would it likely take? I just wanted to know because if they don't recover successfully then it seems like a waste to only use one arm if it ends up killing the octo.
 
Yes, JC, octopuses quite successfully regrow their arms and often lose them (or parts of them) from predation. I have often thought that the seals and eels should have learned this over evolutionary hunting and not kill their meal ticket but only recently have we seen a decline in the numbers. It is interesting that humans are employing the technique. We use it for stone crabs in the Keys but the survival rate is not as clear cut as in the case of an octopus.
 
JCFish;196712 said:
I recently had a seminar on Traditional Ecological Knowledge of the Tsawout First Nations group on Vancouver Island, Canada. And one of the interesting things I was told was that when harvesting GPOs, which they still do today, they only cut off one or two arms. The man who was speaking of this said that this had no effect on the individual's life (doubtful) and that they would regrow it soon. I have heard of cephs car accessories regrowing limbs, but would most or all of the GPOs likely recover from having them cut off? And how long would it likely take? I just wanted to know because if they don't recover successfully then it seems like a waste to only use one arm if it ends up killing the octo.
Oh thats good information about octo. I thought removing arm will lead to death.
 
Not necessarily, but I would think there would certainly be a risk of infection and generally reduced fitness to some extent while the arm is regenerating. I suppose the animal has a better chance of survival than if it were outright harvested (killed), but I don't think 'no effect on the individual's life' is accurate.
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top