So, intertidal and very shallow habitats may provide the necessary rearing habitat for octopuses that settle there. Harvesting in the intertidal may draw from a confined strip of habitat extending only as deep as -5 m. However, octopuses made short trips from the intertidal to the very shallow subtidal in our study, so that octopuses harvested from intertidal dens may be quickly replaced by octopuses from adjacent subtidal habitat. All stages of the octopus life cycle, except for eggs, have been reported from Prince William Sound, so we think it likely that a breeding population exists there. Given the prevailing notion that octopuses have become scarce recently, we suggest that fishermen refrain from harvesting individuals 15 kgs and larger, as these animals may be close to breeding size.
Sea otters compete with octopus for both bivalves and crabs and sea otters also prey on octopuses.
Therefore, sea otters may be limiting both the distribution and abundance of octopuses in Prince William Sound and Port Graham. Finally, the low octopus densities recorded in this study deserve consideration. Native villagers in the Sound and Cook Inlet have noted a decline in Octopus dofleini abundance, and voiced concern about the status of octopus following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Elsewhere along the east Pacific coast, several aquariums, where the Giant Octopus is a popular exhibit, complained about being unable to get octopuses. Declines during the early 1990s in the Japanese fishery have raised concerns about O. dofleini in that country also.