Out of the shrimp pot, it’s visiting Bellingham’s Marine Life Center until winter

Bellingham’s Marine Life Center, a non-profit organization that houses mainly invertebrates living in Bellingham Bay, welcomed a new Giant Pacific Octopus this month.

The octopus is the newest resident at the Marine Life Center after it released its previous octopus, Mazu, last winter.

Center Director Casey Pruett said the octopus was caught in a shrimp pot by local fisherman Brian Haling, who will be helping with the release of the octopus back to the ocean this coming winter.

Every year, the Marine Life Center gets an octopus from local fishermen, who usually find them caught unintentionally in their shrimp pots.

Octopuses are usually the biggest hit for visitors at the center, Pruett said. They can sometimes grow up to 10 pounds a month. The center releases them back into the wild at the end of shrimping season.

Pruett also said that visitors are curious about what an octopus can do.

“They learned tricks like peek-a-boo, and they love to be petted and tickled,” said Pruett. “They love human interaction and they will request them from people.”

The center has also recently acquired rockfish, which Pruett said are “spiky, large, poisonous and cool to talk about.”

Looking ahead, Pruett predicted that their newly installed touch tanks, where sea anemones and jellyfish will live, could also be something unique for families with kids to experience.