The octopuses came from Jersey, and because of their short life span were renewed from the Channel Islands every year. In 1960, I was approached by a large biological supply house for a list of specimens I could supply. Their catalogue at the time consisted of marine specimens that were normally discarded by commercial fishermen as 'trash' and shovelled back into the sea. However, not all specimens could be obtained this way, and orders from specialist researchers were passed on to me. These orders were an opening to many wonderful people who drew me into their experiments and were instrumental in showing me the beautiful life that could be seen under a microscope.
All marine collection is subject to winds, temperature and tides.
In the 1960's the Nuffield Foundation chose the animal subjects that were part of the studies under the school curriculum. On the list of subjects covered was cell embryology. A few of the common marine invertebrate species were ideal for the job as the eggs and sperm were large enough to be observed under a low powered microscope. The Common Starfish, Asterias rubens , was one of these. They were an abundant pest and could be obtained in large enough numbers reasonably easily.