An unexpected visitor could still be lurking at a marina – after it surprised fishermen and onlookers by swimming into Gillingham’s waters. A red octopus was spotted by the marina wall near the hoists where the boats are taken in and out of the water.
Harbour master, Kevin Dutch, said he popped in to work at the weekend and saw a lot of people standing around looking at the water. The octopus was spotted in Gillingham Marina on Saturday. Mr Dutch, 33, said: “It’s not something you normally see here. I’ve been here eight years, its the first time I’ve seen one of them. The crabs were trying to attack it, and it was attacking the crabs. It’s not something you normally see here. I’ve been here eight years, its the first time I’ve seen one of them.”
The marina was holding a Boat and Chandlery Fair, and Mr Dutch said he thinks it could have attached itself to one of the boats and hitched a lift into the marina or managed to swim in whilst the lock gates were open. At the moment it is unclear if the strange guest is still swimming around the marina.Mr Dutch said it could have made its way back out, but added that people were talking about catching it and releasing it out at sea. He said it would have to be released about a mile out to sea as “they are very intelligent creatures and it could find its way back”.
The species of the octopus remains a mystery, but a spokesman for the Kent Wildlife Trust said he believed it was a common octopus (Octopus vulgaris).
The 2014 Commemorative Cruise will see the Little Ships visiting Chatham on the River Medway. Over 20 Little Ships are expected to attend from the Medway, Thames, South and East Coast.