Squid Could Be the Next Animal to Suffer in Factory Farms

EAT

Nov 11

Just months before the first octopus factory farm is set to open its doors in Spain, scientists in Japan claim to have found a way to breed and raise squid on an industrial scale.

Since a Spanish company announced plans to open the first commercial octopus farm in 2023, outrage has surrounded the controversial decision, with scientists, conservationists, and activists weighing in.

Now, octopuses aren’t the only cephalopods under threat from the fishing industry, as researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan claim they have developed a method to farm and breed the aquatic animals on an industrial scale.

Demand for squid meat has skyrocketed over the past few decades, with catches of cephalopods growing over 10-fold since 1950 to almost 5 million tonnes every year. This relentless scale of fishing has put extreme pressure on wild stocks, in turn impacting the ecosystems.

Some scientists claim that factory farming is the answer to relieving the pressure on wild cephalopods, leading to companies across the world, from Mexico and Spain to Japan and Hawaii, racing to find a way to do this, a task that has - up until now - been impossible. This is due to the animals’ behavior, including their tendency towards cannibalism and self-mutilation when confined in close quarters, their complex life cycle, and their sensitivity to tank, food, and water conditions.

Experts at OIST now believe they have found a cheap way to farm these animals, despite warnings from environmental groups that it is impossible to farm these cephalopods ethically.

“By keeping a single squid lineage for 10 generations in very restricted laboratory conditions, we demonstrated that squid aquaculture can work safely,” said Zdeněk Lajbner, an OIST researcher who leads the project. “I believe it is our duty to offer such valuable technology for commercial applications.”

Animal rights campaigners, however, strongly object, arguing that it is not possible to sustainably farm these animals due to the additional pressure it adds to other fisheries when sourcing food to raise the squid.

“Animal welfare is not a consideration for any aquaculture system in Japan – not just for squid,” said Chihiro Okada from the Animal Rights Centre Japan. “As farming systems expand, so too will the suffering of animals. Sustainability will not be achieved simply by seeking to harvest more and eat more.”

“Farming carnivorous species such as octopus and squid requires fish or other seafood products, and squid farming will put pressure on other animal species,” said Okada, who called for an immediate halt to the project, and for aquaculture to be replaced by sustainable fishing and the promotion of a plant-based version of the animal.

“The intensive rearing of many animals in one place, even in the sea, can be a source of water pollution, parasites and infectious diseases,” she said. “In addition, cephalopods are sentient beings, and confining such animals in small farms will inevitably cause animal welfare issues.”

Aquatic animal sentience

Earlier this year, the UK passed groundbreaking legislation to formally recognize that all lobsters, octopuses, squid, crabs, and all other decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs are sentient beings with the capacity to have feelings such as joy, comfort, pain, and distress. This came about after a government-commissioned review conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE), found there was “strong scientific evidence decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs are sentient” and throws into further alarm, plans to intensively farm them, according to activists.

Meanwhile, in October, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, one of the leading organizations for farmed seafood certification, announced their decision to introduce new welfare rules after concluding that fish can feel “pain, stress and anxiety”.

The Fight for Cephalopods

Trillions of aquatic animals are slaughtered for consumption around the world every year, and this is wreaking havoc on the oceans and causing immeasurable animal suffering. Thankfully, there’s an ethical solution: vegan seafood. When it comes to protecting aquatic animals, this is a game-changer, and everyone from the world's largest food giants to tech-savvy startups are jumping on board to help develop plant-based replacements for fish and crustaceans. Here are some of our favorite brands that you have to try.

Species Unite is also voicing our opposition to cephalopod farming, with tens of thousands of our incredible supporters speaking out by signing our petition calling on the Spanish Government and the European Union to ban octopus farming and stop this new form of mechanized animal cruelty before it is too late. If you haven’t already, please sign and share here.

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