Plans to create octopus farms in coastal waters round the world have been denounced by an international group of researchers. They say the move is ethically inexcusable and environmentally dangerous, and have called on private companies, academic institutions and governments to block funding for these ventures.
The researchers say that farming octopuses would require the catching of vast amounts of fish and shellfish to feed them, putting further pressure on the planet’s already threatened marine livestock.
The group, led by Professor Jennifer Jacquet of New York University, argues that
octopuses are highly intelligent, curious creatures. Farming them intensively would probably cause large numbers of deaths from stress. “We can see no reason why, in the 21st century, a sophisticated, complex animal should become the source of mass-produced food,” Jacquet told the
Observer. “Octopuses eat fish and shellfish, and supplying enough to feed large numbers of them puts further pressure on the food chain. It is unsustainable. Octopus factory farming is ethically and ecologically unjustified.”
There are about 300 species of octopus and many behave in surprisingly sophisticated ways. Some have been shown to use tools, for example. In one experiment, scientists observed octopuses building shelters from pieces of coconut shell. “Once octopuses have solved a problem, they retain long-term memory of the solution,” the researchers state
in a paper in
Issues in Science and Technology.
