As an audience of local marine life and ebullient visitors looked on, Highline Community College graduated its first cephalopod.
On June 5th, the Highline Marine Science and Technology (MaST) Center, a small public aquarium at Redondo Beach, invited the community to a celebration of George the giant pacific octopus' release into Puget Sound.

The resulting gathering, said Woody Moses, a Highline Community College biologist, "shows how much people love and care for their environment."

Although the MaST Center does not normally release aquarium animals, the seven-foot George had become too large for his tank, said Moses. More importantly, he noted, George had reached breeding age, and it was the MaST center's ecological duty to return him to the wild.

Octopi are among the most popular animals at the aquarium, and MaST staff seized the opportunity of George's release to "get the community involved and interested in what we're doing" at the MaST Center, Moses said.
MaST's primary mission is to increase the public's knowledge about and appreciation of local marine life, thus inspiring environmentally responsible behavior.

Visiting members of the community were interested as they crowded around a television screen, watching the scuba divers release the octopus by means of an underwater camera.
Cheering broke out as George let go of his transport trashcan and swam underneath a sunken boat. Moses began an impromptu lecture on Dungeness crab mating as the camera panned away from the disappearing octopus.

Discussing the importance of public support for Puget Sound wildlife, Moses said, "I think it's essential. That's how we're going to preserve Puget Sound."
After a final hearty cheer, the visitors repaired to one of the on-site classrooms for refreshments and a chance to meet the divers.
The crowd consisted of several MaST Center regulars, including Marta Kalve. She and her husband learned about George's release from the MaST mailing list, and they "thought it sounded great fun," Kalve said. Her husband Sven agreed, saying that the MaST center is "a great place in the community."

Barbara VanderWeil, on the other hand, had never visited the MaST center before. She said that she had just heard about George's release a few minutes before hand and had rushed down to join the party.

According to one volunteer, George is among the friendliest animals to inhabit the MaST Center's tanks. He had been trained to come to the surface of his tank and spread out his arms, sucker sides up, whenever the lid was removed, allowing him to retrieve his meals as quickly as possible.

Though George may be missed by his human fans, another collecting expedition is planned soon, so the MaST center will likely not lack a cephalopod for very long.