A fisherman was stunned at hauling in a huge common octopus ‘with suckers as big as 50p pieces’ off the British coast.
Chris Rushton caught the giant 18lbs tentacled creature three miles off the coast of Jersey during a work trip.
He was on board the charter vessel Anna III as it had travelled past Corbière and said everyone was ‘wowed’ when it ended up on board.
The creatures used to be very prolific in the mid to late 60’s but mostly died out due to a very severe cold winter in 1962/63.
The catch was described as a rare example of a common octopus ‘nearing maximum size’.
Mr Heart said: “It took quite an effort to bring it to the top as it was like a dead weight at 18lb, which is one of the largest of its species.
“We unhooked it, weighed it, photographed it and returned it alive to the water. These creatures used to be very prolific in the mid to late 60’s but apparently most died out due to a very severe cold winter in 1962/63.
“I have been a charter skipper in Jersey for over 30 years and have only ever seen one other in all this time.
“This was about 3 years ago and it was the size of the palm of your hand. It was a privilege for me and all on board to see such a magnificent creature.
“The suckers on it were as big as 50 pence pieces.”
Mr Rushton, who lives in Wiltshire, fishes competitively and made the catch while on day off during a work trip.
The group were about three miles west of Corbiere light house and fishing in Jersey water.
Mr Heart said they had already caught quite a few Black Bream and Chris decided to put a big bait down intended for Tope or Conger.
The octopus picked up the bait, which was half a Mackerel, with one of its tentacles and got caught by the hook.
Mr Rushton said: “I didn’t think it was an octopus when we first hooked it and when it came up out of the water everyone went “wow”.
“Including the legs, it was a good couple of metres.”
Based on recorded figures, the weight of the creature hauled up by Mr Rushton represented roughly four times the average octopus catch landed by the commercial fishing fleet in Jersey each year.
But experts added there was obvious sign the species would be returning in large numbers.
