JAKARTA - Spurred on by soaring demand for seafood, a Spanish company plans to open its first commercial octopus farm next year, with scientists warning of an ethical and environmental disaster as they learn more about the mysterious animal.
"This is a global milestone," said Roberto Romero, director of aquaculture at Nueva Pescanova, the company that has poured 65 million euros ($74 million) into farms awaiting environmental approval from local authorities.
At the company's research center in Galicia, northwest Spain, several octopuses quietly propel themselves around a shallow indoor tank.
Two technicians at waders plucked adult specimens into buckets for transfer to new cages, with five other octopuses.
Building on decades of academic research, Nueva Pescanova beat competitors in Mexico and Japan to perfect the conditions needed for industrial-scale breeding.
The commercial incentives for livestock, which are slated to produce 3,000 tonnes per year by 2026 for domestic and international food chains and generate hundreds of jobs on the island of Gran Canaria, are clear.
Between 2010 and 2019 the value of global octopus trade ballooned to $2.72 billion from $1.30 billion, according to data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), while landings rose only about 9 percent to 380,000 tons.
However, previous attempts to breed octopuses have struggled with high mortality rates, while attempts to breed wild-caught octopuses have run into problems with aggression, cannibalism and self-mutilation.
David Chavarrias, director of the center said optimizing tank conditions allowed the company to eliminate aggression and breed five generations in captivity.
"We haven't found cannibalistic behavior in our culture," he said.
But not everyone is convinced. Since the 2020 documentary 'My Octopus Teacher' captured the public's imagination with its story of the filmmaker's friendship with an octopus, concern for their well-being has grown.
Last year, researchers at the London School of Economics concluded from a review of 300 scientific studies, that octopuses are living beings capable of experiencing both pain and happiness. And, high welfare farms are impossible.
Raul Garcia, who heads conservation organization WWF's fisheries operations in Spain, agrees.
"Octopuses are very intelligent and very curious. And it's known that they don't like being in captivity," he told Reuters.
Any livestock operations aiming for a high quality of life by approaching their natural, solitary habitat on the seabed, would likely be too expensive to be profitable, he said.
The European Union's laws governing livestock welfare do not apply to invertebrates and although Spain is tightening its animal protection laws, the octopus will not be included.
Nueva Pescanova has not provided specific details about tank size, density or feed, citing trade confidentiality. It said the animals were continuously monitored to ensure their well-being.
Chavarrias said more research was needed to determine whether octopuses were really intelligent.
"We want to say more than an intelligent animal, it is a responsive animal. It has a certain capacity to resolve when faced with survival challenges."
Despite increasing attention to animal rights, demand is soaring, led by Italy, Korea, Japan and Spain, the world's biggest importers. Natural fishing grounds feel the tension.
"If we want to continue eating octopus, we have to look for alternatives. Because fisheries are at their limit," said Eduardo Almansa, a scientist at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, which developed the technology used by Nueva Pescanova.
"For now aquaculture is the only option available," he said.
Half of the seafood consumed by humans is farm produce. The industry has traditionally positioned itself as a means to meet consumer demand while reducing pressure on fishing grounds, but ecologists say it is obscuring the true environmental impact.
While about a third of global fish catch is used to feed other animals, rising demand for fish meal for aquaculture is exacerbating pressure on already depleting stocks, WWF said.
Chavarrias of Nueva Pescanova said he was aware of concerns around sustainability and stressed the company was researching the use of fish and algae product waste as alternative feed, but said it was too early to discuss the results.
Some activists say the solution is much simpler: don't eat the octopus.
"There are so many amazing vegan alternatives out there right now. We urge everyone to protest against these farms," said Carys Bennett of animal rights group PETA.
To note, this project itself is still awaiting approval from the Canary Islands Environment Department.
Asked whether the department would consider opposition from rights groups, a spokesman said, "all necessary parameters will be taken into account".
On the other hand, traditional octopus fishermen are also wary of the venture, fearing it could push down prices and damage their reputation for quality products.
Pedro Luis Cervino Fernandez, 49, leaves the port of Murgados in Galicia at 5 a.m. every morning in search of an octopus. He was worried that he would not be able to compete with the livestock industry.
"Big companies just want to keep their profits, don't care about small companies like us," he told Reuters in his small boat off the coast of Galicia.
A few hundred miles inland at La Casa Gallega, a Madrid restaurant specializing in pulpo a la gallega, grilled octopus with boiled potatoes and lots of peppers, the staff here are unimpressed by the prospect of farm produce.
"I don't think it will be able to compete with the Galician octopus. It will be like any other farmed fish, the quality is never the same," said butler Claudio Gandara.
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