Governments Funnel Taxpayer Dollars Into Octopus Farming R&D
“Octopus fattening optimization.” “New technologies and techniques for octopus larval culture to make ‘octolarvae’ industrial exploitation viable.”
These are just two examples of dozens of known projects funded by €13.3 million (US $14.4 million) in taxpayer money to develop confinement feeding operations for octopuses in Spain, Chile, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia. These details come from a report based on information available online and gathered via telephone interviews, emails, and Freedom of Information requests between August and September 2024. Other projects may exist, but, according to the researchers, government transparency is low.
Interest in projects like these stems from growing menu demands in the United States and Japan for wild-caught octopuses. In response, educational institutions as well as corporations have seen an opportunity. Already, the National Autonomous University of Mexico has an octopus farm in Sisal, Yucatan. In Hawaii, discussions are underway to reopen the Kanaloa Octopus Farm. And Nueva Pescanova, a fish farming company headquartered in Redondela, Spain, has touted its plans to launch the world’s first commercial-scale octopus farm in Gran Canaria.
Ongoing studies have shown, however, that confining multitudes of octopuses in small spaces would be detrimental to the animals and to the environment. Octopuses demonstrate the intelligence of birds and mammals, with advanced cognitive, sensory, and motor abilities. They have excellent memories, use tools, learn, problem-solve, and even play. They also prefer to be alone. As the researchers warn, being forced to live in close quarters with other octopuses on a factory farm would likely increase aggressive behaviors that could lead to cannibalism.
The researchers also note that negative impacts on the environment could be significant. Because octopuses are carnivores and eat other animals such as snails, sea slugs, and fishes, they would require proteins from wild-caught sources that are already overexploited. This unsustainable practice would exacerbate food insecurity in regions like West Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America, where people depend on healthy fish populations.
Based on their findings, the researchers make three policy recommendations:
- Stop funding octopus farming and, instead, direct taxpayer money toward humane and sustainable regenerative practices that benefit animals, people, and the planet. Examples include bivalve and algae farming, which are considered lower impact.
- Increase transparency around tax dollar spending to reassure citizens that funds are going toward ethical projects. A European poll showed that people want a public record when public money is spent on aquaculture.
- Develop legislation to ban octopus farming and the importation of octopus meat and products. In the U.S., for example, two senators introduced a bipartisan bill in July 2024 to do just this.
Overall, governments have been slow to react. Only the U.S. states of Washington and California have signed laws banning octopus farms. However, the researchers point to the groundswell of public support for such bans, with hundreds of thousands of people around the world having already signed petitions against octopus farming. Animal advocates can be encouraged by this outpouring of support and continue to apply pressure on decision-makers. As public opposition grows, governments should see there is no place for taxpayer-funded projects to support this harmful and unsustainable practice.