Ocean
Watch
Monday, May 6, 1996
Folks who harass octopus
run risk of being bitten
RECENTLY, a marine photographer friend needed a photo
of an octopus beak. We decided the best place would be the fish auction
held daily, at the crack of dawn, on Ahui Street near Kewalo Basin in
Honolulu.
Sure, any octopus there would be dead, but that was
likely the only way to get a clear picture of the wiggly animal's mouth.
My friend called me the next day. "Well, I found
one all right, but it sure was a weird experience. I had just lined up a
picture of a big octopus beak when this guy comes over and asks me what
I'm doing.
"I start to tell him. But before I'm even done
talking, he grabs the octopus, pops the entire beak in his mouth, bites it
off and SWALLOWS it. 'That's how we deal with octopuses around here,' he
says."
"I don't get it," I said. "What was his
point?"
"I have no idea. He left before I could say a
word."
I've heard of octopus fishermen biting octopuses
between the eyes. But eating their beak raw? It's a new one to me.
IN Hawaii, octopuses are called he'e (Hawaiian), tako
(Japanese), or squid (local vernacular).
Three species inhabit Hawaiian reefs. One is the day
octopus or he'e mauli. This octopus is dusky-
gray, or tan, and hunts for crabs and shrimp on exposed
areas of the reef. The day octopus grows to about 2 feet long from its
head to the end of its outstretched arms.
A similar species is the crescent octopus, named by the
student who recognized it 20 years ago. No scientific name has yet been
assigned to the creature, which looks like a small day octopus.
Hawaii's third species, the reddish-brown night
octopus, or he'e puloa, hunts on the reef at night. This nocturnal
octopus, identified by its white spots, is smaller and thinner than the
day octopus.
An octopus catches prey by pouncing on it, then
enclosing the prey in the web between its eight arms. The octopus
immobilizes its catch by biting with two parrotlike jaws, its
"beak." Such a bite delivers a paralyzing venom from the
animal's salivary glands. Octopus venom contains enzymes that break down
proteins, and a glycoprotein (sugar plus protein) toxin.
Hawaii's octopuses all carry venom. None however,
contain the potentially lethal tetrodotoxin of Australia's blue ringed
octopuses, the only octopuses in the world known to fatally bite humans.
Local fishermen report that most bites come from the
night octopus. Typically, fishermen wade onto shallow reef flats, either
spearing or catching octopuses by hand. In its death struggle, an octopus
sometimes tries to bite the hand that holds it. To subdue this writhing,
mucus-covered creature, some fishermen bite the octopus between the eyes.
HAWAII divers usually handle octopuses without being
bitten. If the animal is handled gently, it rarely bites. Octopus bites
mostly occur when someone harasses them.
An octopus bite can tear a person's skin, sometimes
producing bleeding. The octopus sometimes injects venom from its salivary
glands when biting humans.
To avoid octopus bites, don't take the animals out of
the water. In the water, don't antagonize them. If you do handle an
octopus in the water, wear gloves and be kind. Better yet, don't touch.
An octopus bite usually looks like two puncture wounds.
If the animal injects venom, the pain is similar to that of a bee sting,
with tingling or pulsating sensation around the wound. Pain may radiate to
the entire arm or leg.
Venomous octopus wounds can bleed profusely. Redness
and swelling of the affected area is common. Some victims experience
intense itching around the wound.
Unless a person is allergic to it, venom produced by
Hawaii's octopuses is not life-threatening.
As for the wisdom of, or reason for, eating a raw
octopus beak? I don't have a clue.
