On the Canary Islands, the Spanish fishing group Nueva Pescanova, which has annual sales of around one billion euros, wants to breed octopuses for consumption, the BBC reported, citing secret documents. These were passed to her by the Eurogroup for Animals lobby group, which represents numerous animal protection organizations in Brussels.
Nueva Pescanova plans to keep the animals of the species Octopus vulgaris, which live up to 200 meters under the sea surface as nimble hunters and territorial loners and are therefore also used to darkness, in communal tanks with many conspecifics and under constant lighting. According to the plans, the first 100 octopods, 70 males and 30 females, will come from a research station. They should not show any significant signs of cannibalism or aggressiveness when foraging.
Scientists also object to the “cruel” method of killing envisaged according to the plans, in which the animals are immersed in ice-cold water at minus three degrees. The World Organization for Animal Health views this method of killing fish as very critical, the certification organization Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), which checks the sustainability of fish and seafood from farms, refuses this method of slaughtering fish if they are not stunned beforehand Seal of approval.
Propagation relatively expensive
So far, octopuses have not been deliberately bred in large numbers because their propagation is considered to be relatively complicated and therefore expensive. The larvae only eat live food and need a stable environment to grow up. In 2019, Nueva Pescanova announced a breeding breakthrough. So far there are no rules for the species-appropriate commercial breeding and keeping of octopods.
According to the BBC, however, studies show that diving in ice water is immensely stressful for the animals and that they die a slow and stressful death. There are already retail chains that no longer sell creatures killed in this way. In the United States, US politicians are now planning a ban on octopus farms, and there have already been protests in several countries against the commercial breeding of octopus as livestock.
Demand for octopods is constantly increasing
Octopuses are caught and eaten around the world, currently around 350,000 tons per year – a tenfold increase compared to 1950. The killing practice of hitting them on the head, which is common among fishermen, does not appear animal-friendly to outsiders either. But Dartmouth University neurologist Peter Tse told the BBC it was a “more humane” method for the intelligently cat-like animals than dipping them in ice water. According to scientists, like other animals, octopuses can feel pain and pleasure. In Britain they are considered “sentient beings”.
Nueva Pescanova aims to produce 3,000 tons of octopus per year, supplying “premium markets” in the US, South Korea and Japan, according to the report. The manufacturer himself assumes an average death rate of ten to 15 percent for his commercial attitude. According to the plans, ten to 15 animals should each sit in a tank with around 1,000 liters. According to the plans, they are to be fed there with dry food, apparently made from leftovers and by-products of fishing. The water for the pools is to be pumped directly from the sea and used water is to be discharged into the sea.
When asked by the BBC, Nueva Pescanova explained that the animals are guaranteed to be treated “correctly”, including when the animals are slaughtered in a way that avoids pain or suffering. The used and consumed water is filtered, there is “no impact” on the environment, according to the manufacturer. Environmentalists, on the other hand, fear that the excrements of the animals will very well pollute the water.
