After hatching, octopuses first exist as tiny organisms known as paralarvae, drifting around the upper ocean in among clouds of plankton which they feed on. It is this stage \u2013 before they become fully fledged young adults and descend further into the sea \u2013 which is hardest to replicate in aquaculture. \u00a0Feeding octopuses adequately during their first two months of life is a challenge. \u00a0At an industrial scale, the only possible solution is to take wild juveniles caught at sea and grow them in floating sea cages. Fishermen start with individuals of about 800 grams and grow them until they are more than 2-3kg, supplying them with crustaceans and low value fish over a period of three or four months.<\/p>\n
Fishermen cooperatives in north-western Spain grow octopus in sea-cages. They sell them at high season \u2013 Christmas and summer \u2013 where large creatures can reach \u20ac10-12 per kilo, double the usual price. So far, research has allowed small-scale production by artisanal producers in Vigo, Galicia, reaching a production of just ten metric tons per year.<\/p>\n
But this system is highly dependent on the success of the initial catches; without a good crop of smaller octopuses to grow<\/span>\u00a0in the cages, end results will always be limited. This is why farmed-raised octopus hasn\u2019t had commercial success yet.<\/p>\n Over the past 15 years the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) in Vigo has carried out important and successful research to overcome the problems with octopus cultivation, and the institute is now focused on rearing octopus across a full life cycle \u2013 from hatch to catch. In fact they managed to complete full cultivation across the life cycle of several octopuses in 2001.<\/p>\n This experiment was achieved after using live crustacean larvae known as zoeae<\/em> as prey along with the commonly used artemia, a brine shrimp. However, it is very difficult to obtain these zoeae<\/em> in large quantities, making large-scale production prohibitively expensive.<\/p>\n What makes octopuses find larvae so tasty (or at least edible). Once identified, the idea is to ensure the cultured enriched artemia has the same features.<\/p>\n But once the octopus is up to a certain size, there is another step to be solved: the transition between paralarvae and juvenile. This stage is another mortality peak in octopus farms.<\/p>\n Working with other species that don\u2019t have a paralarvae phase would help, such as the Mexican Four-Eyed Octopus \u2013 known scientifically as Octopus maya<\/em>. Like cuttlefish, these octopuses hatch ready for the deep seas, with all the same features as their adult selves. There is still a transition phase of sorts though, when they still need commercial feed pellets to grow adequately.<\/p>\n Octopus maya<\/em> cultivation represents the most advanced attempts at commercially sound cephalopod aquaculture. But even with this species, it has been necessary to rely on targeting a specialized gourmet-level market. In conclusion, the best octopus farms can’t yet compe<\/span>with the common wild-captured product.<\/p>\n Developments in feeding products and techniques over the next few years will be key. Once small octopuses can be fed in large numbers, the development of a full undersea farming industry will be much easier.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The main thing that prevents octopus farming\u00a0at large scale is that the common octopus \u2013 Octopus vulgaris \u2013 is tough to feed in captivity, especially when first born. After hatching, octopuses first exist as tiny organisms known as paralarvae, … Continue reading ![\"Octopi](\"http:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Octopi-as-Food-A-Commercial-Venture-300x198.jpg\")
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