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World’s First Industrial Octopus Farm Upsets Environmentalists
Spanish seafood multinational Nueva Pescanova is investing a reported US$63 million to build the world’s first industrial-scale octopus farm in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, next year amid rising octopus consumption demand across the Mediterranean, Asia, Mexico and the US.
The plans have recently been met with fierce resistance by environmental groups and scientists, with protests taking place outside Spanish embassies in more than 20 locations worldwide. Opponents are demanding that the Spanish government reverses its decision to authorize the project and recognize octopuses as sentient creatures. They argue that mass-producing octopuses will further deplete wild fish populations, contravening the EU Strategic Aquaculture Guidelines while paving the way for additional energyintensive farming practices.
Nueva Pescanova has declared an estimated annual output of 3,000 tons of octopus meat. Considering the Octopus vulgaris (the species to be farmed) weighs up to 9 kg, this output equates to the slaughter of at least 300,000 captive octopuses each year. The Ocean Born Foundation points out that it takes 3 kg of feed to yield 1 kg of octopus meat.
Jennifer Jacquet, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at New York University said: “The government has authorized the Pescanova factory, which will be subsidized by taxpayers to mass produce octopuses for luxury markets. This is not visionary – it is unsustainable, polluting and cruel. There is still time to reverse the decision. We have to stop octopus farming before it begins.”
According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the global octopus trade doubled from US$1.3 billion in 2010 to US$2.7 billion in 2019. However, the volume of commercially-caught octopuses only increased by 9% in the same period, prompting companies to explore the possibility of industrial-scale breeding.
Octopus is offered on many menus and in grocery stores worldwide, and researchers estimate that about 50,000 tons of octopus are caught each year. However, there are currently no laws in Europe, the US, Mexico or Japan to protect farmed octopuses from suffering, particularly from agonizing killing methods.
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