The owner of a controversial octopus "farm" on Hawaii's Big Island was ordered to "cease and desist" nonpermitted operations in January after a clamor of attention was directed at the small outfit, which charges visitors $60 for the opportunity to touch a wild-caught day octopus.
The Kanaloa Octopus Farm, in Kailua-Kona, generally holds between 15 and 20 octopuses at a time in separate, opaque 100-gallon tanks, which resemble big sinks, where the captured animals remain — with an occasional visit to a larger "reef" tank — until they die. Day octopuses generally live for about one year.
Until the state's Jan. 6 letter was received by Kanaloa, operators offered three 20-person tours a day, seven days a week, for visitors and tourists to interact with the octopuses.
