In an effort to keep up with international demand for octopus, a handful of companies have turned to farming the marine species in tanks. While some argue that the move could help natural populations in the ocean recover from decline, wildlife activists are condemning the practice.
As the Associated Press reported, Spain's octopus fishing industry has faced significant challenges from overfishing driven by increasing demand from around the globe. This has led to temporary closures of fisheries in some regions to allow populations to stabilize. However, this hasn't always yielded the desired effect.
Juan Martínez, a veteran fisher with decades of experience, has noticed a disturbing trend in recent years. "The population has only just come back, but once the season opens, we'll destroy it all in two weeks," Martínez said. "This used to be a sustainable industry, but now we've broken an entire ecosystem."
As one of the top suppliers of octopus in the world, companies in Spain are eyeing octopus farming as an opportunity to meet demand while respecting fishery closures. This includes Nueva Pescanova, a company that has signaled a desire to raise up to a million octopuses a year.
This has prompted a number of animal advocacy groups to speak out against the increased interest in octopus farming. Studies have noted that octopuses are capable of being highly intelligent and sentient creatures with complex nervous systems.
Helena Constela, head of communications at Seaspiracy, argues that this should discourage any company from attempting to farm octopus. "Farming wild animals is cruel, but especially with octopuses given their solitary nature and extremely high intelligence," Constela told the AP.
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Despite the pushback, Javier Ojeda, national aquaculture representative at APROMAR, the country's aquaculture business association, believes that adapting to available advancements in the industry is inevitable. "Farming octopus is something that cannot be stopped," Ojeda said. "We've been eating them for a long time. Now we need to try to find best practices."
Octopus farming has sparked intense discussion in the United States, too. California and Washington have banned the practice, and a number of other states are considering bans of their own. Spain's government has not shown any intention to join the U.S., but as pressure mounts, increased scrutiny may warrant another look.
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