Campaigners hail victory over Spanish octopus farm plan

The project had been in the pipeline for at least four years and the intention was to raise up to a million octopuses a year in land-based tanks.

Octopus is a popular and highly valuable seafood commodity in many parts of Europe and South America, and Nueva Pescanova had argued that farming octopus would relieve pressure on wild stocks.

The project brought strong protests from many parts of the world, however, particularly from animal welfare groups. Octopuses are solitary by nature and many critics have argued that raising hundreds of individuals in close proximity would be extremely stressful.

Dr Elena Lara, Senior Research and Policy Advisor at Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), said: “After years of pressure, the move was a huge victory for octopuses, the oceans and everyone who joined us in campaigning to stop the world’s first octopus farm.”

She added: “Octopuses are intelligent, wild animals, not products to be caged in factory farms. The decision to abandon this project sends a powerful message that the future of food must not be built on animal suffering.”

The project also posed major sustainability concerns. A report from CWIF last year concluded that the farm would require around 28,000 metric tons of wild-caught fish for feed in its first year, to produce just 3,000 tons of octopus meat. This would have added pressure to already stretched fish populations, CIWF said, threatening marine ecosystems and coastal communities who rely on the fish for food.

The UK based organisation PETA said the corks were popping at its HQ, adding “it would take eight arms” to hold all the champagne glasses.

The organisation added: “This victory supports what PETA entities and compassionate people the world over have always said: there’s no place in modern society for an industry built on exploiting intelligent, sensitive octopuses.

“These remarkable individuals can solve mazes, use tools, and learn complex tasks simply by watching others. They do not deserve to be confined to underwater prisons and killed for someone’s tapas.”