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The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘The seabed is full of them': English fishers enjoy surprise octopus boom
Octopuses have long captivated humans with their alien-like appearance and bizarre anatomy. This spring, the cephalopods have been baffling, delighting and enraging fishers in English waters as an unprecedented marine heatwave has led to a surge in their numbers. The boom in octopus catches began to be seen in March in east Cornwall and Devon – as sea temperatures rose by between 2C and 4C above average spring temperatures. The hauls have been a boon for fishers. At Brixham market, where most of the catch is sold, tens of tonnes of octopus is being traded every day. Octopus fever has taken over the town; Octavia the octopus, a cephalopod-shaped light usually switched on at Christmas, is being turned on every night; while a nearby cafe has decorated itself with an octopus mural. Barry Young, the managing director of Brixham Trawler Agents, said 36 tonnes of octopus came through the market on Thursday – compared with about 200kg this time last year. 'It's a financial bonus for the fishermen,' Young said. 'They're grabbing it with two hands while they can. The boats, they fish for certain species, we fish for 'bottom fish', which is called a demersal species. We would catch plaice, dover sole, brills, turbots, anything sort of bottom-dwelling. 'Luckily for us and the fleet that we deal with, the octopus seems to be a bottom-dwelling fish as well.' Ian Perkes, who has owned a fish merchant in Brixham harbour for 49 years, said it was the first time in his career he had seen the giant molluscs. 'It's down to climate change because it's only this year that they've been here,' he said. 'We've not seen them before, this time last year, they were on the French side of the water and the French were filling up with them.' Perkes said octopuses were normally caught off the coast of Morocco and Mauritania, where it is a 'massive, massive business' but they have been coming north as the water off the coast of England was much warmer. The surge in octopus numbers has been a bonus for English fishing because there is no quota and a big market, especially in Spain, fetching £8 a kilogram at auction. The 22-tonne catch brought in on Tuesday would be worth about £170,000, Perkes explains. Approximately 70-80% of the fish and seafood caught is sold abroad. 'They're a shot in the arm for the fishermen, like a massive bonus, because there's no quota. They're making incredibly good money,' Perkes said, adding that the octopuses were being swept up across the industry. 'They're getting caught in all methods of fishing,' he said. 'Caught in cuttlefish pots, in crab pots by trawlers, by the beamers. The seabed is full of them.' The flip side to the boom in the UK is that the industry is struggling in Spain, where many companies have processing facilities and employ hundreds of people in Morocco and Mauritania. And not everyone in the UK industry is pleased. There was some tension among fishers specialising in crab and lobster when they discovered the octopuses entering the pots and eating the shellfish inside. The octopus – which has nine brains and three hearts – uses its beak to break the crab or lobster shell. It then injects enzymes that help dissolve the meat before sucking it out. 'Some of the boats have seen that, where the octopuses are prolific in certain areas, they have seen a dramatic drop off in crab and lobster,' Young said. The Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (D&S IFCA) enforce a bylaw requiring 'escape gaps' to be fitted to crab and lobster pots to enable undersized shellfish to escape – a conservation measure to protect juvenile crabs and lobsters and allow them to escape. It is through these escape hatches that the fishers believe the octopuses are entering and leaving after they have eaten the creatures within. The D&S IFCA said the holes could be closed if fishers were trying to catch octopuses only, and it was working on trying to find a long-term solution. Marine biologists said the spike in marine temperatures this spring was unprecedented. It began in early March and is continuing into the end of May. As human-induced climate breakdown continues to raise global temperatures, the frequency of marine heatwaves is increasing, with the UK being subjected to spikes in sea temperature more frequently. According to Dr Marta Marcos, at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies in Mallorca, Spain, who led a study into marine heatwaves, half of the sea warming since 2000 would not have happened without global heating. Carli Cocciardi, a marine nature recovery officer at Devon Wildlife Trust, said there had been a surge in octopuses in English waters recorded in the 1900s, the 1950s and briefly in 2022. 'We're unsure why this surge is happening,' she said. 'But the main reason seems to be warmer waters, so climate change, a sea temperature rise. It could be also changes in prey availability or ocean currents.' Cocciardi said they were medium to large octopuses that could grow up to 1.3 metres in length and were 'very intelligent animals'. She said there was no quota and as it was a new phenomenon it was uncertain what would happen in terms of management. But she added the authorities would 'make sure it was sustainable' if it became a permanent feature in English waters. 'We're just going to have to keep an eye on it,' she said.
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Invading hoard of octopuses from the Mediterranean devour shellfish caught by British fishing crews - leaving shortages at restaurants
An invading horde of hungry octopuses from the Mediterranean is decimating crab fisheries in British waters. Shellfish wholesalers say the huge influx has resulted in swingeing cuts to restaurant orders, leaving chefs scrambling to keep their kitchens stocked. The canny octopuses, thought to have been lured north in their thousands by unusually warm UK waters, have learned to raid fishermen's pots through a small 'escape hatch' – designed to allow juvenile crabs and lobsters to crawl free. And while they will dine on all shellfish, crab is considered their favourite prey. The owner of one Devon boat, Brian Tapper, of Plymouth, said: 'The octopuses are ruining us. They're coming in the side hatch – it's like McDonald's for them. They are just sitting in there until they're full. They'll go through 50 pots eating lobsters, crabs and even scallops. By the time we come along, there's nothing left.' Barry Young, of Brixham Trawler Agents, said the octopuses were 'decimating the crab fishery', although boats targeting them were enjoying a bonanza, with more than 27,000kg of the cephalopods landed at Brixham on a single morning last week. 'We'd normally be lucky to get 500 kilos,' said Mr Young. 'Long-term, it will be a massive problem for restaurateurs who are trying to source shellfish.' He added that the last time Brixham saw octopus catches on a similar scale was more than 70 years ago, when spring sea temperatures were also high. The current 'marine heatwave' has meant southern UK waters are around 2.5C higher than normal. At The Winking Prawn restaurant in Salcombe, manager Andrew Hartle said his Brixham crab order had been cut by a quarter. He added: 'We're lucky because we also work directly with three or four Salcombe boats and can ring around to get what we need. But it's clear that crab is in very short supply. 'Restaurants with a single supplier are going to have problems.' Pot escape hatches are mandatory under a by-law imposed by the Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (D&SIFCA). It will consider next month whether permit rules can be eased. In a statement, the authority said it was aware of 'significant difficulties being experienced by the fishing industry… in respect of predation by octopus'. It added: 'Fishers are reporting that the entry and exit to pots may be through escape gaps fitted in pots. D&SIFCA is aware that this is having an impact on fishers' catches of shellfish and their livelihoods.'
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Octopus invasion ‘decimating' shellfish industry
An invasion of Moroccan octopuses is decimating the shellfish industry after warmer waters from a 'marine heatwave' drew the sea creatures north. The highest spring sea temperatures for 70 years and plentiful shellfish harvested by fishermen off the Devon coast have attracted thousands of octopuses from the Mediterranean. While some fishermen have benefited by landing between four and six tonnes of octopuses a day, those harvesting crabs, lobsters and scallops have seen their catches decimated by the hungry cephalopods. One Devon by-law requires that crab pots must have an escape hatch so that the juvenile crabs can escape. However, this means that the octopuses can enter the pots and eat the crabs and lobsters inside, leaving just a trail of shells for the fishermen to pick up. Brian Tapper, a fisherman, said: 'The octopuses are coming in the side hatch. It's like McDonalds for them. They are just sitting in there until they are full. They are just going along a whole string of pots. 'They will go through 50 pots, leaving empty pots and a few shells from lobsters, crabs and even scallops. They take the scallops in there to eat. It is almost like they are using it as a hole. It's safe. Once they are finished, off they go.' He warned that if it continued, the local fish processing factory would have to close within the next five to six weeks, with the boats then having to be tied up a couple of months later. Barry Young, of Brixham Trawler Agents, described the influx as 'an invasion' and said the octopuses were 'decimating the crab fishery at the minute'. He said: 'At this morning's auction, we got 27 tonnes of these Mediterranean octopuses. We would normally be lucky to get 500kg [1,100lb]. 'Long term, it could be devastating for the shellfish industry in the UK if these octopuses stay. Unless we see a reduction in these octopuses, we won't see any shellfish.' There are also concerns about a shortage of crabs, scallops and lobsters in restaurants and fishmongers. However, other fishermen are welcoming the arrival of the octopuses, as they fetch a high price when sold in Europe. The Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) held an emergency meeting last week to consider relaxing the rules under the bylaw to try to protect the shellfish industry. It said it was aware of the current significant difficulties being experienced because of the 'predation of octopus within shellfish pots'. The authority said it was in the process of gathering information and evidence, which would be presented to IFCA's bylaw and permitting sub-committee on June 26, when issues relating to the octopus industry would be considered in more depth. The octopuses have been attracted by seas around the UK coast that are 2.5 degrees celsius warmer than would normally be expected at this time of year. Fishermen said it last happened in 1952 but there are concerns that climate change could mean it becomes a more regular occurrence.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Invasion of octopuses is ruining our livelihoods'
Some fishermen in south-west England say an "invasion" of octopus and a local bylaw are "decimating" the Devon shellfish industry. The octopus, usually found in the Mediterranean, are being found in lobster and crab pots off the coastline. Fishers said they were landing between four and six tonnes of them a day. They said open escape holes in pots for juvenile shellfish, enforced by the bylaw, allowed the creatures in and out to eat shellfish, and fishers wanted to close the gaps. The authority responsible for implementing the bylaw said the holes could be closed if fishers were trying to catch octopus only, and it was working on trying to find a long-term solution. It is thought the octopuses are coming from Morocco, as fishermen there are reporting a shortage of the creatures. Under the unique bylaw for Devon's waters, some types of crab pots must have "escape holes" as a conservation requirement to allow younger shellfish to escape. Fishers said such escape holes were allowing octopus to enter, devour crabs and leave, resulting in empty pots and no catch for the day. Plymouth crab fisherman Brian Tapper said: "The octopus are ruining us... [They are] coming into the crab pots by the side hatch and it's like McDonald's for them. "They go through 50 pots and all you get in here are empty shells." Barry Young, of Brixham Trawler Agents, described the influx as "an invasion" and said the octopus were "decimating the crab fishery at the minute". "At this morning's auction we got 27 tonne of these Mediterranean octopus, we would normally be lucky to get 500kg," he said. "long term it could be devastating for the selfish industry in the UK if these octopus stay. "Unless we see a reduction in these octopus, we wont see any shellfish." There are also concerns about a shortage of crabs, scallops and lobsters in restaurants and fishmongers. However, other fishers are welcoming the arrival, as they fetch a high price when sold in Europe. The escape gaps regulation was placing local fishermen at a significant disadvantage compared to their Cornish counterparts, fishers also argued. The Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) is responsible for implementing the bylaw. It said it had listened to the concerns and held an emergency meeting at the end of last week. It said it was aware of the current significant difficulties being experienced due to the "predation of octopus within shellfish pots". It has agreed to short-term action, allowing fishermen to close the escape hatches, as long as they are only fishing for octopus at the time, and release any crabs or lobsters caught. It said it was in the process of gathering information and evidence, which would be presented to IFCA's bylaw and permitting sub-committee on 26 June, when issues relating to the octopus industry would be considered in more depth. Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Thousands of fish released to restock river Plymouth City Council Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority
