How would you handle this?

[Mike]

So your belief is that Bob is lying ?

He taunted me by telling me that this octopus had been guarding a den full of eggs ... "and now she's not".

This is the crux of my disappointment in the kid. If he harvested an octopus not on eggs, then I see nothing wrong with what he did, it might not be great that he did it, but as stated it was legal and so be it, but everything I've comment on is based on the initial post on this thread that says the octopus was guarding eggs.

That's a totally different situation to me and is just not excusable.

By-the-way -- since he harvested this octopus for food, where was his cooler? He typically just throws his catch in the bed of his pick up truck?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

What was that I was saying about if you say something enough times it'll become true?

Diver surprised by reaction to his octopus hunt | Local News | The Seattle Times

People tend to believe what they choose to believe. Before you believe what was printed, do a little investigating. Listen to the interview with that game warden ... it's in video on some of the links in this thread. Listen closely and tell me where she mentions the gender of this animal. You won't ... because she didn't.

What you're choosing to believe is a claim made by Dylan to a newspaper reporter three days later ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[danvolker]

People tend to believe what they choose to believe. Before you believe what was printed, do a little investigating. Listen to the interview with that game warden ... it's in video on some of the links in this thread. Listen closely and tell me where she mentions the gender of this animal. You won't ... because she didn't.

What you're choosing to believe is a claim made by Dylan to a newspaper reporter three days later ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

....Like we have never heard of the News saying a diver died because their oxygen tank became empty, or that he was diving in shark infested waters...and so on....

 

[chrpai]

I choose to believe a game warden over a self appointed playground bully / scuba police.

 

[SeahorseDeb]

Bob, It is truly a shame this had to happen, however I am glad you were there to confront him and turn this sad story into a forum of public awareness that is "viral" now. It has heightened awareness about our precious GPO's and other critters by way of the story and also the petition. I live in Eastern WA, however I dive the Cove alot! I posted the story and the petition on our Inland Northwest Divers FB page to continue the awareness because many of our members dive all over, not just fresh water. Kudos to you my friend and sleep well. Like my dad would have said "Ya done good kiddo!"

Inland Northwest Divers | Facebook

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I choose to believe a game warden over a self appointed playground bully / scuba police.

... she never said it.

You're choosing to believe a claim made by Dylan ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Centrals]

... she never said it.

You're choosing to believe a claim made by Dylan ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

If the warden never mentioned the sex of the octopus then where did "chrpai" got the idea from? Seattletimes? And where did Seattletimes got the info from?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

If the warden never mentioned the sex of the octopus then where did "chrpai" got the idea from? Seattletimes? And where did Seattletimes got the info from?

... an interview with Dylan.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[dumpsterDiver]

No matter if you want to give kid the benefit of the doubt in regard to the legality of what he did, and his ignorance to the ethics and morals of what the dive community would expect, no matter what you have to discount all of that and focus on 1 thing which is anybody who's an ethical and moral hunter, any hunter should be mature enough to understand that hunting is about conservation, feeding yourself and protection of the species you are harvesting which means you should understand one thing no matter what ---

YOU DON'T HARVEST FEMALES THAT ARE PREGNANT, WITH BABYS, OR WITH EGGS...

That's just plain good common sense and respect for the species you are hunting. If you don't understand that, you have no business hunting anything, whether its in the water or out of the water. Even if you're just not that sharp, there should be something going off in your head that killing a mother on eggs is probably not a good idea, there should be something nagging in the back of your mind about this might not be a good idea.

This kid doesn't realize that or doesn't respect it, that's what really matters here, if he just harvested a octopus that wasn't on eggs this would have way more grey area to it, but knowingly taking a mother on eggs and smugly acknowledging that he knowingly did it pretty much limits giving him any benefit of the doubt, his first step in becoming a good hunter is to learn this simple rule about mothers and babies. If you kill the mother, you're killing the babies. Whether we are talking about an octopus, a deer or anything else. You don't shoot a pregnant deer and you don't shoot a deer with a baby fawn standing next to it, you don't harvest an octopus guarding eggs.

You don't seem to understand that many marine species are harvested when pregnant. I've cut out egg sacs of thousands of fish. Sea Urchins are harvested specifically for their roe. Mullet in Florida are harvested, when full of roe.. I am sure there are many other examples where the regulators know the reproductive cycles of the particular species and their management plan does NOT preclude harvest when carrying eggs.

 

[Centrals]

I choose to believe a game warden over a self appointed playground bully / scuba police.

What did the warden say about the sex of that octopus?