The Ethical and Environmental Impacts of Octopus Farming

Octopuses are among the most remarkable organisms on our planet. Members of the cephalopod family (which also includes squids, cuttlefishes, and nautiluses), octopuses have blue blood, three hearts, no bones, complex nervous systems, and a doughnut-shaped brain. They are well known for their high intelligence: they’ve been observed using tools, solving puzzles, and recognizing individuals outside their own species.[1] Little wonder that octopuses (as well as lobsters and crabs) have been officially recognized as sentient beings in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.[2] For centuries, these eight-limbed marine mollusks were the stuff of legends, mythology, and nightmares, for they were so misunderstood. Ninety percent muscle and with an unusual shape, a venomous beak, and the ability to change the color and texture of their skin, the octopus became the central villain in the tales and folklore of many cultures, including Norway, Japan, and England, where they were often referred to as “devil fish.”

Yet other societies have revered octopuses as divine beings. People of the Moche culture (100–700 CE) in what is now Peru included a large octopus symbol in a ceremonial headdress made of gold.[3] For the native peoples of the Gilbert Islands, Na Kika was an ancient octopus god who helped build their islands in the Pacific.[4] Many Native Americans and First Nations peoples venerate octopuses for their adaptability, flexibility, and metamorphic skills. To the Tsimshian Eagle Clan of Alaska, for instance, octopuses symbolize wealth, while in the mythology of the Indigenous peoples of Canada’s West Coast, the octopus was appointed guardian of the domain of Kumugwe, the god who presided over the undersea realm.[5]

The octopus in nature

There are about 300 known species of octopuses, and they lead generally solitary lives beneath the ocean’s surface.[6]Ranging from less than an inch in length to the giant Pacific octopus, one of whom was discovered weighing 600 pounds and who spanned 30 feet from arm tip to arm tip,[7] they are found throughout the world.[8] All eight of their arms—on the underside of which are double rows of highly sensitive suckers—contain clusters of neurons that act as a mini brain to control movement, touch, and taste independently from the octopus’ central brain. This enables them to complete tasks with their arms more efficiently.[9] Because of these two different, highly autonomous types of cognitive functions within a single organism, some researchers speculate that octopuses are not only self-aware, but might possess two levels of consciousness.[10] Octopuses spend much of their time in dens, which can be a space under a rock, a burrow in the mud, an empty shell, or even a beer bottle.[11] They are attracted to shiny objects such as seashells and rocks, and they have often been observed collecting and arranging these in their dens.[12] They’ve even been seen using these objects to create little “gardens” in front of their dens. (The Beatles’ 1969 song “Octopus’s Garden” was written by Ringo Starr after learning about octopuses’ penchant for assembling such arrangements.[13])

Octopuses are remarkably smart.[14] A common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) has about 500 million neurons (or nerve cells) throughout their central brain and arms, compared to about 600 million in the brain of a dog.[15] (The human brain contains about 86 billion nerve cells.[16]) And their brain is very large, at least by invertebrate standards. Why did the octopus evolve such a large brain? “Probably because the tropical coral reef is the most complex environment in the world,” explains Dr. Jennifer Mather, who studies octopus behavior and intelligence. “There’s such a huge variety of situations, lots of kinds of prey, lots of predators, and if you are not armored, you’d better be smart. The octopus has gone the smart route. Also, we talk about mammalian intelligence evolving in social situations, but clearly the octopus, a solitary organism, has evolved intelligence to solve ecological problems.”[17] One example of octopus intelligence is their use of tools, such as the famous case of several octopuses collecting coconut shell halves off the coast of Indonesia. After giving the shells a good cleaning with jets of water, they would carry them around as a mobile shelter, hiding beneath them in the presence of danger.[18] Another example is that octopuses have been observed playing with toys. As octopus researcher Dr. Roland Anderson puts it, “Only intelligent animals play—animals like crows and chimps, dogs and humans.”[19] Moreover, octopuses’ hunting behaviors show “highly complex, calculated behaviors,” says Dr. Wen-Sung Chung, a researcher at the University of Queensland who specializes in cephalopod neurobiology. “They can do foraging navigation based on the landmarks or the polarization patterns of the sky,” he says, and they also practice “interspecific cooperation hunting: fish and octopus, they can hunt together. That’s very rare in the animal kingdom.”[20] Octopuses have precise control over the individual suckers on their arms. “As humans, we’re very proud of having a pincer grasp—the thumb and forefinger—and we say that’s responsible for our ability to manipulate the environment so well,” says Dr. Mather. “The octopus can fold the two sides of its sucker together to form a pincer grasp and it can do that with every single one. It has a hundred pincer grasps.”[21] Something else that makes octopuses special is their blood, which is copper-based, rather than iron-based, making it more efficient at transporting oxygen at low temperatures—and turning it blue.[22] They can also maneuver past impossibly tight spaces. “If the octopus can fit its beak through a hole, the whole animal can be squeezed through,” says marine biologist and octopus expert Dr. Jim Cosgrove.[23]

When frightened by an attacker, many octopuses will emit a dark cloud of melanin (sometimes called “ink”), which will temporarily disorient and confuse their foe, giving them time to flee.[24] Such an escape is often made by quickly expelling water from a muscular tube near the head called a “siphon” and propelling themselves forward.[25] Octopuses have short lifespans ranging from six months to five years.[26] This is primarily because almost all octopuses are semelparous, meaning they reproduce once and then die in a process called senescence. Males go through senescence after mating; they lose their appetite, and their body begins to deteriorate. Females experience it while brooding eggs; they reduce or stop feeding and metabolize their own bodies for the energy needed to clean and oxygenate their eggs and to guard them from predators. Even if a female octopus survives after her eggs have hatched, she will continue the process of dying.[27]

The rise of octopus farming

Unfortunately, humanity’s appetite for eating animals knows no limit, and octopuses have long been considered cuisine across the Mediterranean and parts of Asia, as well as Mexico.[28] Now the world’s wealthiest populations—including those in the United States, Japan, China, South Korea, Italy, and Spain—are eager to increase their consumption, so it’s no surprise that aquaculture has been proposed as a way to meet this demand. Aquaculture has been around since the 20th century; in fact, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that more than half of all the fishes and other marine animals humans consume worldwide now come from these fish farms.[29] But farming octopuses has proved to be tricky, and for decades, scientists, universities, and private companies from Mexico, Spain, Japan, and the U.S. have been attempting to solve the many challenges that octopus farming poses, from keeping hatchlings alive and calculating tank conditions to developing the right feed.[30] Octopus Maya, a species living off the Yucatán Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico, for instance, has already been subjected to farming at the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM). It built an octopus research and breeding facility in Sisal, Mexico, where they have managed to duplicate the environmental conditions for the animals to reproduce with the hope of building a commercial octopus farm.[31] UNAM’s research center created an agreement with local families to establish Moluscos del Mayab, the commercial branch of the farm.[32]

In 2019, meanwhile, the Spanish “seafood” company Nueva Pescanova announced plans to establish the world’s first commercial octopus farm in the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The proposed facility would be a 567,000-square-foot complex consisting of two buildings in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. The company would handle every step of the octopus-farming process from birth to slaughter as well as packaging and shipping. The farm has the potential to ship some 3,000 tons of frozen octopuses a year.[33] That’s about 1 million animals.[34] But from the moment Nueva Pescanova’s plans were revealed, there has been a sustained outcry from animal advocates. “Crucially, octopuses are naturally solitary animals who will inevitably suffer in farm conditions,” says Dr. Elena Lara of the Aquatic Animal Alliance. “Confined in cramped indoor tanks of water, these intelligent, unique and sentient wild animals would cause them immense distress, causing aggression, and ultimately even cannibalism.”[35]

Concerns about octopus farming even led the State of Washington to preemptively ban it in 2024. “Octopus farming leads to suffering and sickness for one of the more intelligent and feeling animals in our oceans,” says Rep. Strom Peterson, who sponsored the bill. “It can lead to huge environmental and ecological effects as well. Octopus farming is harmful to the animals and the environment and is unnecessary. It’s time to move on.”[36] Also in 2024, a first-of-its-kind federal bill protecting octopuses was introduced in the United States Senate; S. 4810, the Opposing the Cultivation and Trade of Octopus Produced through Unethical Strategies (OCTOPUS) Act, would ban commercial octopus farming in the U.S.[37] Let’s take a deeper look at some of the reasons octopus farming is a terrible idea, which include concerns about animal exploitation, environmental degradation, biodiversity, biosecurity, antibiotic resistance, public health and the livelihoods of coastal communities. (Note: Food Empowerment Project is steadfastly opposed to the farming and killing of any animal, not just octopuses; many of the points below could be equally applied to cows, chickens, pigs, turkeys, rabbits, fishes, and other farmed animals.)

Octopus farming is inhumane

While there has been little research conducted on the welfare of octopuses in farmed settings, current evidence suggests that intensive octopus farming will likely lead to high mortality rates, increased aggression, parasitic infection, and a host of digestive tract issues.[38] Octopuses are exceptionally intelligent; indeed, even the American Veterinary Medical Association characterizes octopuses as “scary smart, eight-legged escape artists” who need frequent mental stimulation.[39] There’s certainly no way to meet the intellectual demands of such an intelligent being within the confines of a monotonous, tightly controlled, sterile enclosure. Moreover, octopuses are asocial, carnivorous, and fiercely territorial. Keeping them together in close proximity will inevitably lead to immense distress, violent conflict, and even cannibalism.[40] On the other hand, keeping them isolated in small containers, without any environmental enrichment, is tantamount to torture.

Octopuses also prefer to spend most of their time in dark, sheltered areas. They can even feel light through sensors on their arms, leading them to fold their arms during the daytime to protect themselves from potential predators.[41] Yet Nueva Pescanova plans to use 24-hour periods of light during the reproduction period to enhance the breeding capacity of the females in captivity.[42] Constant light would be a agonizing experience for anyone, but it’s bound to be torment for any animal whose nature it is dwell in darker spaces. Finally, one million of these animals will be killed for human consumption. Nueva Pescanova plans to kill octopuses by submerging them in a freezing “ice slurry,” which can cause considerable pain, fear, and suffering, as well as a prolonged death.[43] “To kill them with ice would be a slow death,” said Dr. Peter Tse, who studies octopus cognition at Dartmouth University. “It would be very cruel and should not be allowed.”[44] There are currently no laws in place that protect farmed octopuses in the U.S., the European Union, Japan, or Mexico, which means any mishandling or abuse of them is perfectly legal.

Octopus farming is bad for the environment

Just like other forms of animal agriculture, octopus farming pollutes the surrounding environment with nitrogen and phosphorus waste.[45] This can lead to algal blooms that create low-oxygen dead zones devoid of life, disrupting local marine ecosystems.[46] In addition, it is responsible for contaminants including fertilizers, algaecides, herbicides, and disinfectants.[47] Antibiotics and pesticides may also be used to control the spread of disease and the presence of parasites[48] (a practice already used with sea lice in salmon farms), and these can end up being consumed by wild fishes, making them sick and disrupting food chains.[49] Furthermore, the main ingredients of commercial feeds for carnivorous aquatic species include fishmeal and fish oil, which come mostly from forage fishes such as anchovy, herring, mackerel, and sardines.[50] These fishes play a vital role in the marine environment since they are a crucial pathway for energy to move from the lower levels of the marine food web to the higher levels, such as larger predators.[51] Not only is feeding farmed octopuses viewed as highly unsustainable—as octopuses consume three times their own weight[52]—but the practice significantly impacts the ecosystem, as it depletes the food base of other predators, including seabirds and marine mammals.[53] Octopuses escaping from farms, which is a highly likely scenario given their history of liberating themselves from confinement,[54] could also harm local habitats and animal populations with a high potential of transferring on-farm diseases, viruses, and other contaminants to wild populations.[55]

Octopus farming is bad for human health

Then there’s the potential threat to public health. The antibiotics commonly used in aquaculture to combat bacteria, parasites, and viruses can both lead to antibiotic resistance in octopuses and present a risk to humans, who, by eating these animals, may be ingesting harmful levels of antibiotic residues.[56] “More importantly,” according to the Center for Food Safety, “the use of antibiotics in aquaculture increases the risk of harmful bacteria becoming resistant to specific antibiotics, undermining the effectiveness of those antibiotics in treating human illness.”[57] Other health risks include octopuses transferring bacterial and parasitic infections to humans. Vibrio parahaemolyticus, for instance, a bacterium in the same family as those that cause cholera, is commonly found in octopuses and can cause serious illness in humans. It can produce acute gastroenteritis septicemia, which can result in septic shock or even death. Parasitic risks from octopuses include Anisakid nematodes (roundworms) that can infect humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control, people with anisakiasis can experience abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, abdominal distention (abnormal abdominal expansion), diarrhea, and blood and mucus in their stool.[58]

Recommendations

Ironically, the focus on octopus farming comes as interest in the rich inner lives of octopuses is growing. Recent books and documentaries, such as My Octopus Teacher, which won the Academy Award in 2021 for Best Documentary Feature, have captured the public’s imagination and celebrate these remarkable animals. In his book Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness, Peter Godfrey-Smith observes that the octopus is “probably the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien.”[59] Clearly, the most effective step we can all take to challenge the rising popularity of this industry is to not eat octopuses. Without a demand for these animals, companies will have no incentive to commodify them. In fact, since this is true for the exploitation of all animals, the best step you can take is to go vegan. If you live in the U.S., please contact your legislator and ask them to support S. 4810, the OCTOPUS Act, which will prevent the cruel practice of octopus farming from expanding to the United States. You can also contact Narvay Quintero, the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food Sovereignty of the Canary Islands. Express your concern for octopuses and urge him to halt plans by Nueva Pescanova to operate an octopus farm there. You can email him at consejero.agpsa@gobiernodecanarias.org. He is also on Instagram and X: @narvayelhierro And finally, share this page with family and friends and ask them to help protect octopuses, too. Taking action does make a difference! In 2023, Kanaloa Octopus Farm in Hawai’i was forced to close after months of pressure from animal advocates, media attention, and a complaint led by Harvard Law School, which exposed the facility as little more than a petting zoo that was collecting tourist dollars to fund a commercial octopus farm.[60]