Octopuses are now recognized by science as highly intelligent creatures that can suffer from stress in captivity. Researchers are calling for a ban on funding proposed octopus farming operations as unethical and ecologically dangerous. Until recently, octopus farming was not practicable from a profit standpoint. Octopus larvae eat mostly live prey and require precise salinity and temperature conditions to thrive. Advances in farming technology and the identification of species that are less selective in their food choices have made farming feasible. Several companies in Japn, Australia and Mexico have announced they will be ready to sell farmed octopuses in the internation market soon.
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| giant N. Pacific octopus, courtesy UC Davis |
That market is large. About 350,000 metric tons are sold each year to satisfy the demand for a culinary delicacy. Natural octopus fisheries are therefore in decline due to over-exploitation. This delicacy provided to well-fed human populations in advanced nations comes at a high ecological cost. Feeding farmed octopuses shellfish and fish will put an enormous strain on an already burdened marine food chain.
There are about 300 hundred species of octopuses. Some of whom have been shown to use tools, respond to hunting signals from fish, and build shelters from available materials. Once an octopus solves a problem, it remembers the solution say researchers in a recent paper. Neuroscientists participating in the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness singled out octopuses as an invertebrate capable of conscious experience, or sentient. Aquaculture systems are likely to be associated with high mortality rates and increased aggression,
parasitic infection, and a host of digestive tract issues, as well as debilitating mental effects. Funding such damaging exploitation should not be encouraged or tolerated; instead, emphasis on sustainable harvesting by limiting catch size, using approved techniques, and generous habitat protection should be promoted.