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Octopuses are packaged at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n
Octopuses are packaged at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n
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\n An octopus is thrown into a vat at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)\n <\/p>\n
An octopus is thrown into a vat at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n
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\n Dead octopuses await processing at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)\n <\/p>\n
Dead octopuses await processing at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Frozen octopuses imported from Morocco and Mauritania are stored at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Frozen octopuses imported from Morocco and Mauritania are stored at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Today, 100% of the company\u2019s octopus comes from Mauritania and Morocco.<\/p>\n While octopus numbers fluctuate naturally from year to year, scientists and fishers say Spain\u2019s long-term trend is downward and surging international demand is only tightening the squeeze. That\u2019s prompted some companies to explore farming the animals in tanks to ensure a long-term supply \u2014 a prospect that\u2019s drawn pushback from animal welfare groups.<\/p>\n \n A statue of an octopus is displayed on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)\n <\/p>\n A statue of an octopus is displayed on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \n Vehicles move down a street with an octopus mural in the background Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Vigo, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)\n <\/p>\n Vehicles move down a street with an octopus mural in the background Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Vigo, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Pressure forces closure of Spain\u2019s octopus fishery<\/p>\n This summer, that pressure reached a breaking point. Spain\u2019s octopus fishery closed for three months \u2014 an unusually long pause meant to give it time to recover.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Octopus fisherman Juan Martinez demonstrates how to use the traditional octopus capture device his family has used for generations Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Cangas, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Octopus fisherman Juan Martinez demonstrates how to use the traditional octopus capture device his family has used for generations Thursday, June 26, 2025, in Cangas, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cThe population has only just come back, but once the season opens, we\u2019ll destroy it all in two weeks,\u201d said Juan Mart\u00ednez, a fisherman of more than four decades. Beside him, hundreds of octopus traps sat idle, stacked along the dock in his home port of Cangas. \u201cThis used to be a sustainable industry, but now we\u2019ve broken an entire ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n Octopus populations in Galicia also depend heavily on nutrient-rich upwelling \u2014 deep ocean water rising to the surface and bringing food for octopuses \u2014 said \u00c1ngel Gonz\u00e1lez, a research professor at the Spanish National Research Council. While upwelling naturally fluctuates, climate change is altering wind patterns, ocean stratification and nutrient delivery, making those cycles less predictable and, in some years, less productive. \u201cWhen that weakens due to changing oceanographic and atmospheric conditions, numbers drop regardless of fishing.\u201d<\/p>\n Spain is turning to farms and foreign fisheries to meet the growing demand for octopus. This shift comes as Spain\u2019s octopus population faces a decline due to overfishing and environmental changes. (AP Video by Mar\u00eda Gestoso and Annika Hammerschlag. Produced by Juli\u00e1n Trejo Bax)<\/p>\n In response to growing demand and shrinking wild stocks, some companies in Spain are attempting to farm octopus in captivity \u2014 a move they say could ease pressure on the oceans<\/a>. Grupo Profand is developing a research hatchery in Galicia focused on overcoming the biological challenges of breeding octopus. Meanwhile, seafood giant Nueva Pescanova is pursuing a full-scale industrial farm that would raise up to a million octopuses a year for slaughter.<\/p>\n Grupo Profand did not respond to an interview request. A spokesperson for Nueva Pescanova declined to comment.<\/p>\n \n Octopus traps sit on the Port of Lira on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Lira, Spain, during an unusually long octopus fishing pause period. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)\n <\/p>\n Octopus traps sit on the Port of Lira on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Lira, Spain, during an unusually long octopus fishing pause period. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \n Fisherman Primitivo Pedrosa prepares octopus traps for the start of octopus fishing season after an unusually long pause period Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Lira, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)\n <\/p>\n Fisherman Primitivo Pedrosa prepares octopus traps for the start of octopus fishing season after an unusually long pause period Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Lira, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Animal welfare groups say octopus shouldn\u2019t be farmed<\/p>\n Animal welfare groups have condemned the proposed project as inhumane, citing plans to kill octopuses by submerging them in ice slurry and to confine the often-cannibalistic animals at high densities. They also warn it would pollute nearby waters with discharged waste, worsen overfishing<\/a> of wild fish used for feed and inflict suffering on one of the ocean\u2019s most complex creatures.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Helena Constela, head of communications for oceans advocacy group Seaspiracy, poses for a portrait Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Pontevedra, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Helena Constela, head of communications for oceans advocacy group Seaspiracy, poses for a portrait Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Pontevedra, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cFarming wild animals is cruel, but especially with octopuses given their solitary nature and extremely high intelligence,\u201d said Helena Constela, head of communications at Seaspiracy, a group that advocates against industrial fishing. Keeping them confined together in tanks, she said, is \u201cbasically torture in slow motion.\u201d<\/p>\n Michael Sealey, senior policy advisor at Oceana Europe, said aquaculture should focus on species with lower environmental costs, such as oysters and mussels, which require no fish feed. \u201cWe recognize that aquaculture has a role to play in feeding the world,\u201d said Michael Sealey, senior policy advisor at Oceana Europe. \u201cBut we need to prioritize low-impact farming \u2014 not systems that rely on feeding wild fish to carnivorous species.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Octopus is prepared at a restaurant on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)\n <\/p>\n Octopus is prepared at a restaurant on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \n Diners snack on octopus at Casa Gazpara on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)\n <\/p>\n Diners snack on octopus at Casa Gazpara on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Widespread concerns have already prompted action in the United States. Washington became the first state to ban octopus farming in 2024, followed by California, which also outlawed the sale of farmed octopus. Lawmakers in more than half a dozen other states have proposed similar bans, and a bipartisan federal bill to prohibit both farming and imports of farmed octopus is under consideration in Congress.<\/p>\n Though no commercial farms currently operate in the U.S., these preemptive measures reflect mounting unease over projects moving ahead in Europe, Asia and parts of Central and South America \u2014 unease fueled in part by the 2020 Oscar-winning documentary \u201cMy Octopus Teacher,\u201d<\/a> which showcased the animals\u2019 intelligence and emotional complexity to millions on Netflix.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Octopuses are packaged at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Octopuses are packaged at Frigorificos Arcos SL on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in O Carballino, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n The arguments in favor of farming<\/p>\n \u201cThey have a real brain. They\u2019re able to do things other animals cannot,\u201d said Gonz\u00e1lez of the Spanish National Research Council. \u201cBut please \u2014 don\u2019t cross the line. It\u2019s an animal, it\u2019s an invertebrate. We can\u2019t extrapolate these kinds of things. Personality is linked to persons.\u201d<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez, who is working with Grupo Profand on their research hatchery, believes farming could help restore wild stocks by raising juvenile octopuses in captivity for release back into the sea \u2014 an approach animal welfare groups argue could pave the way for industrial-scale farming.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A young boy waits to catch a fish Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Lira, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag).<\/p>\n A young boy waits to catch a fish Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Lira, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag).<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Javier Ojeda, national aquaculture representative at APROMAR, Spain\u2019s aquaculture business association, said aquatic animals can play a key role in food security and may be more efficient to raise than livestock. \u201cOctopuses grow extremely fast and efficiently \u2014 they\u2019re not fighting gravity and they don\u2019t spend energy heating their bodies,\u201d he said. He acknowledged welfare concerns but argued they should not block scientific progress.<\/p>\n \u201cFarming octopus is something that cannot be stopped,\u201d said Ojeda. \u201cWe\u2019ve been eating them for a long time. Now we need to try to find best practices.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lights with likeness of an octopus is illuminated over a street Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Pontevedra, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Lights with likeness of an octopus is illuminated over a street Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in Pontevedra, Spain. (AP Photo\/Annika Hammerschlag)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram @ahammergram.<\/a><\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP\u2019s environmental coverage, visit https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/climate-and-environment<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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