Monster Octopus 4.3 Feet Weighing 22 Lbs Break Hawaii Record For Biggest Mollusk Catch

A Hawaiian resident, Michael Matsunaga, was in awe as he caught a humongous octopus that broke a state record for over 20 years.

Matsunaga resides in Wahiawa, on Oahu island, and he made the big catch on the 30th of August, in the Turtle Bay waters, according to the HawaiiNewsNow report.

Michael's fishing technique was bottom-fishing, a fishing approach involving a fisher dropping the bait down to the seafloor to target the marine life near the ground.

The 69-year-old fishing enthusiast noticed something fishy on his bait, which was composed of fish and a squid, shrank under the depth of 400 feet.

"It felt like it was stuck," Michael said as he began to wrestle the large octopus, putting it inside his boat. However, it is one of his primary dilemmas. According to Matsunaga, the real battle was managing the octopus's tentacles as soon as it reached his boat.

Matsunaga even compared his arms to the octopus tentacles, saying, "he has eight legs, and I have two arms."

Octopus: A Backless Being

Octopuses are known to be backless, meaning they don't have any backbone. They are an invertebrate species called "mollusk" alongside squids, snails, and others.

They are also considered to be the smartest invertebrates that are commonly seen under deep waters. These mollusks can grow up to 4.3 feet and weigh up to 22 pounds.

Crabs, crayfish, and other smaller mollusks are octopuses' main prey during their hunt; they use their ink to disorient their food or as a defense mechanism during an attack. Its ink contains a substance that numbs predators smelling senses so that they can run.

The two commonly found octopuses in Hawaii are the day octopus (Octopus cyanea) and the night octopus (Octopus ornatus). These species are fairly small, have a maximum tentacle reach of two-to-three feet, and can weigh up to 10 pounds.

The octopuses' names were derived from when they appeared in the waters. The day octopus, also referred to as "He'e," has a smaller size and is usually colored tan or brown, and it can be found in shallow waters and down the reefs.

The "He'e-makoko," the other term for the night octopus, is usually colored rusty red with white dots on its arms and body, according to the Waikiki Aquarium.

(Photo: courtesy of Hana Pa'a Fishing Co. Facebook page)
Meet Michael Matsunaga, who break Hawaii's record for biggest octopus catch,

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Claiming The New State Record

After the boat battle, Matsunaga took the octopus to Hana Pa'a Fishing Co. to be weighed, and the scale showed the digits of 25.95 pounds (11.77 kilograms), becoming Hawaii's record for the biggest octopus catch.

The title was previously earned by his 69-year-old brother, Stewart Matsunaga, who then caught a 19 pounds octopus in the waters of Ka'ena Point, O'ahu, in 2000.

In Hawaii, the octopus is commonly called "tako," a Japanese term for an animal. It is a known ingredient in a popular seafood delicacy called "poke," a staple of Native Hawaiian cuisine.

But Michael has different plans for the eight-limbed mollusk. Instead of making the native tako poke, he intends to boil the octopus in beer, "one leg at a time."