In the previous post, we explored the blue crab invasion in the Mediterranean and looked at the potential of chitin and chitosan. As seen in that post, blue crabs are aggressive creatures that possess formidable and scary pincers, yet they do have a predator – the octopus (even though only a big one could win a fight against a blue crab…).
Octopuses have actually been the subject of a heated debate recently around the world's first octopus farm planned for Gran Canaria's Las Palmas port.
This €65 million facility aims to revolutionize octopus production by potentially yielding up to 3,000 tons of octopus meat annually. The octopuses in question belong to the species Octopus vulgaris, otherwise known as the Atlantic common octopus.
Nueva Pescanova, an aquaculture multinational, first applied for the necessary permits for a two-storey farm in 2021, after stating it had successfully managed to replicate the life cycle of these octopuses in captivity.
The proposed farm's strategic location by the Gran Canaria coast where seawater from the adjacent bay can be utilized, ensures, according to Nueva Pescanova, optimal environmental conditions. The farm would then be populated with octopuses from a research facility, the Pescanova Biomarine Centre, located in Galicia, northern Spain, with the first harvest (300 and 500 tons of octopus meat) expected around 2027. Production would then reach 3,000 tons of meat annually, which means killing 1 million octopuses a year.
Yet there are a lot of issues surrounding the project, mainly regarding sustainability and ethical considerations. While octopus demand surges globally, driven by luxury cuisine trends and by the evolving preferences of younger consumers, critics argue against mass production due to its non-essential nature.
While advocates of octopus farming propose it as a solution to ease pressure on wild stocks, researchers highlight that aquaculture expansion didn't necessarily translate to reduced wild fish harvesting. In fact, aquaculture might contribute to a greater seafood demand.
The farming process is not without its potential ecological consequences: there are multiple issues to consider, from coastal water pollution through the discharge of pharmaceuticals and waste to the demand for wild fish to sustain these carnivorous creatures. Pellet feeds, which are often fishmeal-based, could exacerbate overfishing and contribute to food security issues in certain regions of the global south.
Besides, while octopuses are capable of gaining 5% of their body weight daily, so they present an enticing opportunity for aquaculture, their captive breeding remains a challenging endeavor also for ethical reasons as octopuses are ill-suited to tolerate the hard conditions likely to be imposed upon them.
Proximity in confined spaces can trigger aggression and territorial behavior among octopuses, often leading to cannibalism when housed together. Stress from overcrowding or unfavorable living conditions may also result in self-cannibalism, where the animals consume their own arms. Captivity-bred generations also lack the cognitive stimulation of their wild counterparts notorious for their active and exploratory nature and for daring escapes.
Nueva Pescanova envisions a future facility segregating the animals into around 1,000 tanks based on life phases, each phase calibrated for optimal growth through tailored conditions and states that these problems will not arise as these are not wild octopuses, but animals bred in captivity.
While this will have to be proved, the slaughter of around 1 million octopuses per year has also raised concerns about humane practices. Nueva Pescanova intends to employ ice baths (octopuses would be killed by being put in containers of water kept at -3C) as a more “humane” method compared to other options such as clubbing the animal on the head (octopuses caught in the wild are clubbed on the head, asphyxiated in a net or get their brains sliced). Nevertheless, the lack of established international standards for octopus slaughter remains a complicating factor. Research indicates that fish tend to cease movement relatively rapidly when exposed to ice or ice slurry, however, brain activity suggests the possibility of consciousness persisting for a significant duration.
Octopus farming would subject these complex fascinating animals capable of changing the colour and texture of their skin, of disguising themselves and using tools, to the same suffering other animals such as pigs go through in confined environments. Activists and academics are therefore questioning the ethics of farming these highly intelligent and exploratory creatures.
Protests have surfaced against the octopus farming venture (that would become the first industrial octopus farm globally - the Washington State in the US has moved instead towards banning octopus farming - the only operating octopus farm in the US, situated in Hawaii, recently closed down), and there are organisations working to provide further information about octopus farms and several global petitions calling the President of the Canary Islands, the European Union (EU) and governments all over the world to reject the plan to build the world's first industrial octopus farm and ban octopus farming in the EU and around the world, including its import and financing.
Sadly in the EU, farmed octopuses lack protective regulations under existing animal welfare laws, which do not apply to invertebrates. In the UK, instead, the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill was amended after a scientific review and now it includes some invertebrate animals such as octopuses and lobsters. This was possible also thanks to new researches that proved their sentience, pain perception, harm and distress (scientific studies observed injured octopuses employing protective behaviors such as wrapping an arm around wounds; some studies indicate that injured octopuses, when given the chance, may exhibit self-medicating behavior by seeking pain relief).
Octopus research has also unveiled their intelligence (some studies suggest their intelligence is equivalent to that of cats), playfulness and passion for daring escapades.
Dating back to 1875, accounts from the Brighton aquarium revealed that a bold octopus stealthily left its tank to indulge in lumpfish-filled neighboring enclosures, then quietly slipped back in its own tank. A 2009 incident saw an octopus at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium flooding the area by manipulating a valve in its recycling system. In a remarkable escape case in 2016, Inky, a New Zealand octopus, managed to break free from the national aquarium by slipping out through a slightly ajar tank lid, maneuvering down a 50-meter drainpipe, and disappearing into the sea (genius).
One of the latest studies about octopuses, carried out by researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan and published in the journal Nature in June this year, is fascinating as it proves that these animals experience two sleep stages, known as "quiet sleep" and "active sleep."
The study, carried out on 29 octopuses of the nocturnal species Octopus laqueus, confirmed that during the active sleep stage, octopuses exhibit similarities to REM sleep in vertebrates, including humans. While this phase of slumber is associated with dreaming in humans, the study doesn't conclusively prove that octopuses can dream.
The researchers observed twitching body parts and rapid changes in the texture and patterning of the skin during active sleep, similar to those seen when awake. Octopuses also displayed changes in breathing rate, body and eye movements, and neural activity patterns that correlated with wakefulness.
Sleeping octopuses have sparked interest before: US researchers observed a male Octopus insularis that intermittently left its sleep position, seemingly during slumber, and exhibited behaviors indicative of reacting to a predator attack.
While the study focused on a single octopus and refrained from drawing definitive conclusions, the researchers proposed that the behavior could be linked to the cephalopod "responding to a negative episodic memory," potentially suggesting a form of nightmare.
But octopuses have fascinated not just researchers, but also many creative minds: the artwork "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife," also known as "Girl Diver and Octopi," created by Japanese artist Hokusai, comes to mind. This woodblock-printed design was included in a three-volume book of shunga erotica published in 1814.
This particular artwork has become Hokusai's most famous shunga creation. It portrays a young ama diver (shell diver) engaged in a sexual encounter with two octopuses. In the image, the larger octopus performs cunnilingus on the woman, while the smaller one, presumably its offspring, fondles her mouth and left nipple.
This depiction is likely influenced by the story of Princess Tamatori, a well-liked narrative during the Edo period. In this story, Tamatori, a humble shell diver, marries a man seeking a pearl stolen by Ryūjin, the sea dragon god.
In her attempt to retrieve the pearl, Tamatori swims to Ryūjin's underwater palace and is pursued by the god and his sea creatures, including octopuses. To escape, she cuts open her breast and places the stolen jewel inside, allowing her to swim faster. However, she succumbs to her wound upon reaching the surface.
The artistic theme of a diver fighting against octopuses appears in works by other artists as well, such as Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who often featured octopuses in depictions of the bare-breasted diver fighting against sea creatures.
Hokusai's print is sometimes considered an early precursor to tentacle erotica, a motif that gained popularity in modern Japanese animation and manga from the late 20th century onwards.
This image also influenced later artists including Pablo Picasso and had an impact on contemporary Japanese-American artist Masami Teraoka, who created artworks featuring women, including a recurring pearl diver character, being pleasured by cephalopods as a representation of female sexual empowerment.
A musical reference to this theme can be found in "Aria della piovra (Un dì ero piccina)" (also known as "Octopus aria"; published by Irene Disques / Kutmusic) from Pietro Mascagni's opera "Iris" (1898), with a libretto by Luigi Illica. Here the main character, Iris, recounts a memory from her childhood where she saw a screen in a Buddhist temple depicting an octopus entwining its limbs around a smiling young woman, killing her. The aria reflects the symbolic significance of the octopus as pleasure and death, as explained by a Buddhist priest.
Echoes of Hokusai are also featured in Thom Browne's Haute Couture A/W 23 collection: the latter revolves around the story of a woman who is sad about her life and planning on drowning in her sorrows, but eventually, realizing life isn't so bad, finds the strength to get on.
The collection features several designs with underwater scenes, including a coat with an appliqued representation of an octopus vaguely calling to mind Hokusai's representations.
In his early engagements with octopuses, Japanese artist Shimabuku drew on ancient Mediterranean and Japanese fishing traditions, coming up with vessels and vases strung up on long lines of rope to unsuspecting octopuses for shelter. The artist would then pull them up and harvest them.
But in 2010 the artist decided to rethink this connection with octopuses creating 12 glass balls that he interpreted as gifts to these creatures, inspired by ancient rituals of offering to deities (the spheres are currently part of the exhibition "Shimabuku. Me, We," at Bolzano’s Museion, until 3rd September).
This gesture was a way for the artist to extend kindness and generosity across species, recognizing nonhuman creatures as individuals with desires and wishes of their own. Unlike exploitative approaches, this practice embodies solidarity and mutual respect. In this way the artist gifts something to octopuses so that they can also enjoy themselves.
For playful, cleverly whimsical and ironic forays into fashion involving octopuses, you should check out instead the work of the late Cinzia Ruggeri.
Back in the 1980s, Ruggeri donned rubber tentacles as fingers in a picture published on Vogue, that illustrated a feature about her by Alessandro Mendini. In the article, Ruggeri made a list of references and sources of inspiration and also mentioned octopuses.
Her groundbreaking video project, entitled "Per un vestire organico" (Towards an Organic Way of Dressing) and shot for the New Italian Trends in the Creation of Images photography seminar at Palazzo Fortuny in Venice (December 1983) also celebrated the octopus.
In the video, shot within the confines of Ruggeri's Milanese showroom, dancer Valeria Magli moved clad in a blue bodysuit adorned with countless suction cups and embodying the designer's artistic exploration.
Magli as an octopus-woman gracefully navigated the studio's spaces and interior design elements surrounding her, becoming entangled with the objects and pieces of furniture she found in her path (among the pieces there is also the "Tavolo acquario", an aquarium table designed by Ruggeri, in which tiny fish used to live).
This kinetic performance seemed to allude to the ritual of dressing oneself, with the bodysuit activating an interplay between Magli and the objects created by Ruggeri.
This interaction unfolded slowly (to remind us to readjust our internal rhythms to our surrounding spaces), encouraging a harmonious connection between contemplative thought and the spontaneous responsiveness of the body.
Ruggeri's Spring/Summer 1984 collection also featured the "Abito Polpo" or octopus dress - a harbinger, perhaps, of the later seapunk trend that emerged in 2012.
This ensemble featured oversized bandolier-like undulating elements reminiscent of octopus tentacles adorning the sleeves and dress.
Who knows, maybe Ruggeri was inspired by octopuses because she was fascinated by the creature's astuteness and by its audacious lifestyle of autonomy, escape, and self-expression, characteristics that applied to her as well.
But thorugh octopuses, she may have also been hinting to multi-tasking and multi-disciplinary approaches, something she favoured throughout her life, working between art, fashion and interior design.
For those readers who remain unconvinced of the octopus's remarkable qualities, well, you can dive (pun intended) into the docu-film "My Octopus Teacher" (2020).
Directed by Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, the Oscar winning docu-film follows the friendship between Craig Foster and a wild common octopus in a South African kelp forest. Foster states about his friend, "A lot of people say that an octopus is like an alien. But the strange thing is, as you get closer to them, you realize that we're very similar in a lot of ways".
Those who are on holiday and have more times on their hands can instead check out the books "The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness" by Sy Montgomery and "Other Minds – The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness" by Peter Godfrey-Smith or the 1875 classic "The octopus or, the 'devil-fish' of fiction and of fact" by Henry Lee (Download The octopus or the 'devil-fish' of fiction and of fact_Henry Lee).
These works alongside the ongoing investigations into octopuses - exemplified by the Schmidt Ocean Institute's discovery in June of the third recorded octopus nursery in the ocean's depths, found 2800 meters below the sea's surface near Costa Rica and providing sanctuary for a novel species of Muusoctopus (inkless, small to medium-sized deep-sea octopuses) - serve as a reminder that our comprehension of the ocean remains significantly incomplete and offer profound insights into the captivating world of octopuses, inspiring a desire to befriend these enigmatic creatures rather than merely consuming them.
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