Proposed Plan To Build First-Ever Octopus Farm In The World Raises Concerns

According to a BBC story, a multinational corporation’s intention to construct the world’s first octopus farm to raise the animals for consumption is drawing criticism.

There has never been any farming of the octopuses that are consumed in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and other parts of the world. According to the article, a global Spanish firm named Nueva Pescanova intends to construct an octopus farm.

Octopuses are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity because their larvae only consume live food and require meticulous environmental monitoring. Since many years ago, attempts have been made to breed octopuses. In 2019, Neuva Pescanova asserted that it has made progress in creating a technique for breeding octopuses in captivity.

According to some scientists cited by the BBC, they raised concerns that the suggested approach to killing the octopuses was “cruel.”

According to Nueva Pescanova, no harm will come to the octopuses. The farm will be constructed by the corporation in Spain’s Canary Islands.

The proposal to breed the animals, according to the report, calls for building 1000 community breeding tanks that will occasionally be exposed to light as well as maintained in darkness. The octopuses will be killed by being kept in water that is 3 degrees Celsius colder than ambient.

“to kill them with ice would be a slow death … it would be very cruel and should not be allowed,” said Prof Peter Tse, a cognitive neuroscientist at Dartmouth University. Professor Tse was quoted by the BBC.

Octopuses, according to the professor, are “as intelligent as cats,” and if they are going to be killed for food, more compassionate techniques need to be utilized