Rising demand for octopus puts species at risk

Fears of overfishing lead scientists to develop an app tracing stocks from ocean to dinner table

‘Between 1980 and 2015 the fishery for octopus doubled globally, and it’s continuing to accelerate’

THE growing popularity of octopus on restaurant menus around the world is causing concern for marine biologists who fear the species is at risk of overfishing.

High prices and growing demand mean illegal fishing is on the rise, prompting UK scientists to start building up a DNA database to track the creature through the food chain.

Catches of the protein-rich mollusc doubled between 1980 and 2015, causing concerns that a poorly-regulated market could lead to population decline.

Demand for octopus, often seen on sushi and tapas menus, hit record levels before the coronavirus pandemic and is continuing to rise.

There are 300 species of octopus and about 100 varieties are being caught in the wild using line fishing, pots and nets, however they are often misidentified, and their landings and locations inaccurately reported.

The global project, spearheaded by Aberystwyth University, plans to collect environmental DNA from prime population grounds, such as southern California, and key in the findings to a phone app to allow fishermen, traders, retailers and diners to track where their food comes from.

Data will also come from pictures taken by fishermen and analysed using artificial intelligence to track catches of different species.

Prof Paul Shaw from the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences at Aberystwyth University, will develop the global octopus genetic database.

He said: “Fisheries have started to target these species more and more.

“They’ve long been used by lots of countries in the Mediterranean and the Far East, but this popularity of cephalopods is growing globally because they are a very good source of protein.

“And so the fisheries for the species have been growing over the past 30 years – between 1980 and 2015 the fishery for octopus doubled globally, and it’s continuing to accelerate.

“The problem is that because there’s been less traditional fisheries, there’s not a kind of same level of management and regulation across the world as there tends to be for finfish fisheries and shellfish fisheries.”

The octopus project is the first in a model that can be applied more widely to other species, he added.

“The aim is to provide a proof-of-concept app that can be rolled out to the fishing industry in general,” said Prof Shaw. “So, while the team will focus on cephalopods, the longer-term aim is to provide a comprehensive system to enable any seafood item to be harvested, distributed and processed through to the consumer in a clearly identifiable and sustainable way.”

Growing demand for octopus has led to new efforts to establish farms, something that some scientists say is unethical because of the animal’s level of intelligence.

In 2019 a group of scientists from New York University said farming would disrupt sustainability and lead to “serious welfare and environmental problems”.