39 
Evaluation of the capture efficiency 
and size selectivity of four pot types 
in the prospective fishery 
for North Pacific giant octopus 
( Enteroctopus dofleini ) 
Abstract — Over 230 metric tons of 
octopus is harvested as bycatch annu- 
ally in Alaskan trawl, long-line, and 
pot fisheries. An expanding market 
has fostered interest in the develop- 
ment of a directed fishery for North 
Pacific giant octopus ( Enteroctopus 
dofleini). To investigate the potential 
for fishery development we examined 
the efficacy of four different pot types 
for capture of this species. During two 
surveys in Kachemak Bay, Alaska, 
strings of 16-20 sablefish, Korean 
hair crab, shrimp, and Kodiak wooden 
lair pots were set at depths ranging 
between 62 and 390 meters. Catch- 
per-unit-of-effort estimates were 
highest for sablefish and lair pots. 
Sablefish pots caught significantly 
heavier North Pacific giant octopuses 
but also produced the highest bycatch 
of commercially important species, 
such as halibut ( Hippoglossus stenol- 
epis), Pacific cod ( Gadus macrocepha- 
lus), and Tanner crab ( Chionoecetes 
bairdi). 
Manuscript submitted 18 March 2009. 
Manuscript accepted 15 October 2009. 
Fish. Bull. 198:39-44 (2009). 
The views and opinions expressed or 
implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National Marine 
Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
Patrick D. Barry (contact author ) 1 
Sherry L. Tamone 12 
David A. Tallmon 1 - 2 
Email address for contact author: p.barry@uaf.edu 
1 School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences 
University of Alaska Fairbanks 
17101 Point Lena Loop Rd. 
Juneau, Alaska 99801 
2 University of Alaska Southeast 
11120 Glacier Hwy. 
Juneau, Alaska 99801 
The North Pacific giant octopus ( Enter- 
octopus dofleini) is a benthic cephalo- 
pod fished throughout its range from 
Baja California to the Aleutian Islands 
in Alaska and westward in the Pacific 
Ocean to Japan. Many artisanal fish- 
eries use trailing hooks, longlines, 
handlines, and spears as means of 
harvest. Since the 1970s, increas- 
ing overseas food markets and local 
bait industries have triggered several 
attempts to develop a commercial fish- 
ery for the North Pacific giant octopus 
(hereafter referred to as “giant octo- 
pus” in this article) in Alaska (Paust, 
1997), but little is known about the 
efficacy of different gear types for the 
capture of this species in Alaska. 
Currently, the Alaska Department 
of Fish and Game allows commercial 
harvest of octopus within state wa- 
ters only as incidental catch managed 
under state permits. Retention levels 
as bycatch vary from about 5% in the 
pot gear fishery for shrimp in south- 
east Alaska to about 20% in the state 
groundfish fisheries. Paust (1997) 
compared four lair pot designs and 
found that because of low construc- 
tion costs, reduced space needed for 
storage, relative ease of handling, and 
a superior fishing performance over 
other lair pot designs, the wooden 
Kodiak pot would be the best choice 
for fishery development in Alaska. No 
baited pots were included in Paust’s 
study design. Paust (1997) assumed 
new entrants into a directed fishery 
for giant octopus will most likely in- 
tegrate directed fishing for the giant 
octopus as an off-season or second- 
ary fishery. Such a developing fishery 
would have high start-up costs and no 
proven returns, limiting its partici- 
pants to using fishing gear from other 
fisheries. Given the value of data on 
the effectiveness at capturing giant 
octopus with equipment already used 
in Alaska fisheries, we examined the 
efficiency and size selectivity of four 
pot types for their use in a directed 
fishery for this species. 
Materials and methods 
Two surveys were completed (2-13 
October 2006, and 25 November to 6 
December 2006) in Kachemak Bay, 
Alaska (Fig. 1). Four types of pots 
were used during the course of the 
study: lair, Korean hair crab, sable- 
fish, and shrimp pots (Fig. 2). Lair 
pots were constructed of wood, mea- 
sured 60.96 cm x 30.48 cm x 30.48 cm 
with a 15.42 cm x 30.48 cm opening, 
and were left unbaited. Korean hair 
crab pots consisted of PVC piping and 
were 45 cm tall and had a 100-cm 
base diameter and a 26-cm plastic 
