Creature, known as the seven-arm octopus, has been historically found in Atlantic waters: biologist
A biologist believes a seven-arm octopus was found washed up on a Pender Island beach in August. (Kathleen Durant)
It’s unclear how they may have ended up in these waters, Cook said.
“Climates are changing, currents are changing, and there’s a lot of animals that are ending up over on the Pacific Ocean that maybe don’t belong here,” she said.
Hypothetically, they could have been brought here in ballast water or by other means, she said, or perhaps they are native to the area and scientists have yet to figure it out.
“There’s not a lot of research that I understand is happening in the deepest parts of the Salish Sea,” Cook said.
She added that while chances are slim the octopus is a Pacific species, that doesn’t mean it isn’t becoming a Pacific species.
“It seems like this specimen was doing well, it did not look injured to me,” Cook said. “It was perfectly intact as far as I’m concerned.”