The breeding of octopus will soon be the norm. Here is the case against him – Quartz

The arrival of octopus farms is fast approaching. Until now, animals have fled breeding because they are extremely difficult to feed shortly after birth and have a low survival rate. But technological progress and experimentation make this possible. A Japanese seafood company hatched in 2017 and laid eggs of octopus. She hopes to sell breeding octopus next year. a Mexican farm would have grown octopus, and farms in Spain and China are also starting to trade.

This does not deserve to be celebrated, according to four marine researchers who presented their arguments in the winter 2019 edition of Problems of science and technology. On the one hand, they note that octopus are carnivorous and that their breeding therefore increases the pressure on the ecosystem because farmers have to capture a huge amount of wild fish to feed them. The raising of octopus "would increase, and not relieve, the pressure on wild aquatic animals," they write. "Octopuses have a feed conversion rate of at least 3: 1, which means that the weight of the food needed to maintain them is about three times that of the animal."

But there is also a particular problem with octopus: their incredible ability. "One study found that octopuses have the expertise to open a worm jar for at least five months," say marine scientists. "They are also capable of mastering complex aquatic landscapes. to perform numerous outings in search of food and to use visual cue points to navigate. " the closest thing to a stranger on this planet.

Octopuses on the farm probably mean that they will be kept in small containers with monotonous life that will not satisfy their need for mental stimulation and exploration. In addition, researchers note that octopus rearing has so far been linked to increased aggression, parasitic infection and high mortality rates.

Of course, the argument for not raising octopus raises the question: why cultivate other animals? Salmon may be less intelligent than octopus, but it is likely that he still loves to frolic in the streams and that he deserves a nice lifestyle. Considerable effort would be needed to put an end to long-standing farming practices (such as sheep farming, which started 9,000 years ago, say the researchers). Before we start raising octopus, we have at least the opportunity to reconsider: is this really the right way to treat another animal?