- This topic has 6 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 2023-04-29 at 21:16 by .
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clive
- Grazalema
It does propose an interesting ethical discussion. But I think that it is a great shame that the first octopus farm will probably be in Spain. A country with so many natural and national parks and protected areas and species.
Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain – The company Nueva Pescanova is to invest over €50 million in a plant to produce 3,000 tonnes of octopus per year, equivalent to 10% of the catches of the cephalopod made each year by the Spanish fleet.
The lack of information from the company involved is bordering on the repressive and the idea that the food for the captive octopus will be sourced from the wild and may do even more damage to ocean eco environments is scary to say the least.
If the octopus farm does open in Spain, it seems the creatures bred there would receive little protection under European law. Octopuses – and other invertebrate cephalopods – are considered as sentient beings, but EU law covering farm animal welfare is only applied to vertebrates – creatures that have backbones. Also, according to CIWF, there is currently no scientifically validated method for their humane slaughter.
Read the article at the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-59667645
Take a trip on the Wildside!
https://wildsideholidays.co.uk (Wildlife and nature holidays in Spain)
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Miguel
- Cádiz
They are certainly in with the big boys!
Pescanova Biomarine is working on several projects in collaboration with technology partners, universities and research centres to achieve progress in digital transformation and sustainability. These include the work carried out with Artificial Intelligence and Big Data technologies in shrimp aquaculture alongside Microsoft. 100% of the processes can now be monitored automatically and in real time, boosting the efficiency and sustainability of the farms, guaranteeing food traceability and improving animal health and welfare.
Helen
- Seville
There is already a large research place in the US (Hawaii) for this but I don’t think they have reared any octopus for meat yet as it is still in the study stage. The aim does seem to be captive bred for human consumption though.
https://www.kanaloaoctopus.com/about-us
Aquaculture is the fastest growing food industry on the planet, and aligning farming practices with conservation objectives is particularly pressing to ensure that growth happens in the service of conservation in the most effective and sustainable way possible. The sheer potential of conservation aquaculture suggests a tale of redemption for aquaculture and opportunity for conservationists to bring in a new age of collaborative practices to address global issues.
Breathe and try to be nice to people 🙂
Dave
There are a couple of background and well written articles to read on this subject… The first is the national geographic entry from early last year. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/octopus-aquaculture-debate
The second is an earlier study by a group of researchers and scientists here: https://issues.org/the-case-against-octopus-farming/
Unlike terrestrial farmed animals, the majority of which evolved as herbivores, most farmed aquatic animal species, including salmon, trout, and shrimp, are carnivorous, and depend on fish protein and oil during certain developmental stages. Feeding most farmed aquatic animals puts additional pressure on wild fish and invertebrates for fishmeal. Around one-third of the global fish catch is turned into feed for other animals, roughly half of which goes to aquaculture. Many fishmeal fisheries are subject to overfishing and are declining.
Living the dream!
clive
- Grazalema
In the news again with an article at the BBC. The full article is well worth a read: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-64814781
Nueva Pescanova’s plans reveal that the octopuses, which are solitary animals used to the dark, would be kept in tanks with other octopuses, at times under constant light. The creatures – the species octopus vulgaris – would be housed in around 1,000 communal tanks in a two-storey building in the port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.
A plan to build the world’s first octopus farm has raised deep concerns among scientists over the welfare of the famously intelligent creatures.
The farm in Spain’s Canary Islands would raise about a million octopuses annually for food, according to confidential documents seen by the BBC.
They would be killed by being put in containers of water kept at -3C, according to the documents.
Also an article over at the Canary News website: https://thecanarynews.com/2023/03/leaked-documents-raise-further-concerns-about-welfare-in-proposed-las-palmas-octopus-farm-that-would-be-first-of-its-kind-in-the-world/
Take a trip on the Wildside!
https://wildsideholidays.co.uk (Wildlife and nature holidays in Spain)
https://grazalemaguide.com/ (All my web projects in one portal and everything you need to know about Grazalema)
Helen
- Seville
A petition to sign against the project: https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/ban_octopus_farming_loc/
Its fast approaching a million signatures….
Breathe and try to be nice to people 🙂
SteveT
- Yatton
I will sign it Helen,
I saw the film My Octopus Teacher a year or so ago. It is really worth seeing! If not you must and you will never eat octopus again ( I guess you don’t ). Honestly, I could never see the point in the potato in Pulpo a la Giega …. now I’d never touch the pulpo! Never.
Seriously, the film makes you question what intelligence is and opens up so many existential thoughts. Any body reading this definately watch it you will not be disappointed!
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