This profile encompasses fisheries in the Philippines for a variety of octopus species, including Day octopus (Octopus cyanea), common octopus (Octopus vulgaris), baby octopus (Amphioctopus aegina), Cistopus indicus, Octopus aculeatus, Octopus nocturnus, Octopus ornatus, and Octopus luteus. There are 20 coastal species reported to exist in the country's waters, 17 in the genus Octopus, and one species each in the genera Amphioctopus, Hapalochlaena and Cistopus (Norman and Sweeney, M.J. 1997). Catches for 17 species are reported by Regional National Stock Assessment teams (WoRMs Editorial Board 2017). These two lists imperfectly match one another, with several species in one not included in the other.

Day octopus (Octopus cyanea), also known as big blue or cyane's octopus, is considered the predominant species in the species aggregate (Roa-Ureta 2020). According to local stakeholders, O. vulgaris and A. aegina are also abundant. O. Cyanea and O. vulgaris are exported out of the Philippines to western markets, but aegina mostly stays local.

There is as yet no consensus as to the stock structure of octopus species in the Indo-West Pacific region. Therefore, this profile may undergo restructuring in the future as new information comes to light. The national stock can be considered a meta-population: the populations in the various regions of the Philippines may have some degree of connectivity, but a large part of population dynamics is thought to be controlled by local forces (Roa-Ureta 2020).