Fish shop owner buys 70 pound octopus just to set it free

Morro Bay, Calif. — An octopus that was accidentally caught by a crab fisherman in California had an unexpected savior – the owner of a fish market.

Giovanni DeGarimore, owner of Giovanni’s Fish Market, is usually the one selling fresh seafood to customers in Morro Bay. But a 70-pound, eight-legged sea creature – who was later named Fred – had a different fate.

“Gio bought [Fred] from a fisherman yesterday with the sole intention of releasing him back into the wild,” reads a post on a the business’s Facebook page.

The purchase cost DeGarimore, “a couple hundred dollars,” according to The Tribune. He says he released the octopus back into the water the following day.

DeGarimore told The Tribune that he used to sell octopus, but could not bring himself to do it anymore after a close encounter with one of the creatures while diving in Fiji.

Fred’s story has been shared on Facebook hundreds of times.

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