Octopus farm in the Canary Islands arouses criticism among scientists

A proposal for an octopus farm in Spain’s Canary Islands has drawn criticism from scientists who fear for their well-being.

As reported by the BBC, confidential documents have revealed plans to raise a million octopuses annually on a farm in the Canary Islands.

In the Canary Islands, Nueva Pescanova has formulated plans that involve keeping the typically solitary creatures in tanks with 10-15 octopi that would, on occasion, be subjected to significant amounts of light despite being used to darkness. The proposals seen are for 1000 tanks to store in a two-story building in Las Palmas.

To date, the sea creatures, which are considered highly intelligent, have never been intensively bred. The Oscar-winning documentary my master octopus brought global attention to the intelligence of octopuses in 2020.

According to documents seen by the BBC, the octopuses at the Nueva Pescanova facilities would die submerged in -3C icy water that some scientists have called “cruel”.

Several supermarkets have already pledged not to sell fish killed by ‘ice sludge’ due to the stress this places on the animal in what is a slow kill.

Octopuses are currently caught in the wild using traditional fishing methods such as pots, lines and traps. Breeding them presents multiple challenges, not least because the larvae have a diet of only live foods and are susceptible to changes in their environment.

There are also concerns that residual effluent could contaminate the nearby sea, which Nueva Pescanova is reportedly pumping into, although they have stipulated to the BBC that the wastewater would be treated.

The US state of Washington has already submitted proposals to ban the practice despite the fact that there is no industry.

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