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Photos of Fish, Crustaceans & Cephalopods and Information on each

Beche De Mer
(Sea Cucumber)

Octopus are cephalopods with 8 arms.  They have no fins.

Octopus inhabit seagrass beds in bays and coastal waters as well as coastal reefs.

All octopus have a short life cycle in which each female produces 1 egg mass and dies soon after the eggs have hatched.  They are solitary animals and are often very active during daylight.  They live for approx. 18 months.

Octopus appeared approx. 500 million years ago.

By day, when hungry fishes prowl, an octopus hides in its den: under rocks, in holes or empty shells or shallow depressions on the seafloor. But under the cover of twilight, an octopus turns hunter, stalking crabs, shrimp and snails.

When it finds prey, the octopus pounces. Holding on with suckers, it cracks the shell with its beak and injects poison. It usually returns home to eat the meal.

An octopus explores with its tentacles and suckers. The suckers can taste the difference between sweet, sour and bitter, and can feel if something's rough or smooth.

To grab a crab, an octopus draws up the centers of its suckers to create a vacuum. Octopuses have tremendous gripping power. It takes 18kg of pull to release the grip of a 1.4kg octopus.

Octopuses are major predators of rock lobsters and fishing was initially based on a by-catch in commercial rock lobster fisheries. Some targeted octopus fisheries now exist and octopuses trawled incidentally in prawn and finfish fisheries in northern Australia are also retained and sold.

Did you know?
Octopus appeared approx. 500 million years ago.

Octopus Photos:

Angling for Octopus | Catching Octopus:

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Cooking Octopus :

Octopuses have an enjoyable mild flavour, with a texture similar to that of squids, though more dense.

Prepare the fresh octopus for cooking. Cut off the eyes and beak. Use the opening to turn the head inside out and remove the ink sac and intestines. Rinse the entire octopus under warm running water for one minute.

Cook octopus quickly over a high heat or simmer slowly. Marinating will help to tenderise the flesh and strengthen the flavour for enhanced results when cooking quickly.

Octopus is tough at the best of times. Among octopus-cooking cultures, there are all sorts of recommendations for tenderizing it.

Greek Style is to beat it against a smooth rock or throw it onto a cement path 100 times, then rub it on the rock in a circular movement sprinkling it with seawater until the tentacles become curly or the membrane between them can be easily torn. Many Octopus that you buy prepared have been placed in a cement mixer with rocks for several hours!

Spanish Style is to dip it into boiling water three times, then cook it in a copper pot.

Italian cooks boil it with a cork (it is believed that enzymes in the cork tenderise the octopus)

The Japanese beat it with mallets.

Octopus Recipes

Octopus Preparation for Cooking

 

Baby Octopus Salad	Octopus with Chili Sauce	Sicilian Octopus Stew	Octopus Spanish Style

How to Clean an Octopus
Sydney Fish Market takes you through how to clean an Octopus ready for cooking.

Distribution: Several species of octopus are found throughout NSW waters, from the shallow intertidal rock ledges to the deep offshore areas.

Size: Southern octopus to around 40cm, pale octopus to around 60cm and Maori octopus to an arm span of 300cm.

Characteristics: Octopi have 8 arms that create an umbrella shape around the central rounded head. Each arm has two rows of suckers and is 3 to 4 times longer than the body. The head has two large eyes and the octopus could be many different colours from a red to a pale grey, with or without mottling and with or without protrusions on its skin.

Processors, Exporters, Importers and Wholesalers of Octopus
Processors, Exporters, Importers and Wholesalers of Baby Octopus

More links about Octopus

Australian Government - Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (PDF file) - Australian Fisheries Statistics 2010/2011

NSW Department of Primary Industries - Fishing & Aquaculture - Species - Common recreational saltwater fish & seafood