It was at the beginning of 2025 when science gave With something “more” About those creatures that have given so much to speak. We knew that the octopuses were intelligent, but not to the point of having A “brain” on each arm that allows them, apparently, to act with extreme precision and independently. With such a versatile “beast”, the United Kingdom has been found.
But not a normal one, a unprecedented invasion.
Attack on the English coast. Yes, the southern coast of England has lived an unusual phenomenon: the massive arrival Mediterranean, a rare species in those waters and, suddenly, has become the protagonist of the docks and fishing markets. In Brixham, the main port of the Southwest, fishermen like Arthur Dewhirc up to 10,000 extra pounds Weekly.
Between January and August they auctioned More than 12,000 tonswith daily peaks of 48 tons, which made the town the “octopus capital” of the United Kingdom. Restaurants and shops joined the fury, incorporating the animal of menus and facades, and making it local emblem of an exceptional year.
Climate change. Scientists point out TO THE SEA WARMING as the main explanation of the phenomenon. Professor Steve Simpson, from the University of Bristol, underlined In the New York Times that the British waters are at the northern limit of the usual range of the Mediterranean octopus, but the increase in temperatures has made the environment It is more favorable For your settlement.
What seemed impossible a few decades ago has now materialized: a direct pulse of visible climate change in the abundance of a species that previously barely reached those latitudes.
Benefits and threats. Although for many drags the boom has meant an unexpected economic relief, for crab and lobster marshal It is more gloomy. The octopus, voracious and intelligent predators, have colonized the nasas used to capture crustaceans, devouring them inside and leaving only empty shells.
In locations like salocombe, veteran fishermen like Jon Dornom They related the surprise initial (“hundreds of aliens” in their traps) that soon became anguish when checking how seafood populations collapsed. Of a successful trip with almost three captured tons passed to nasas full of remainswhich threatens the sustainability of your business in the medium term.
Uncertain phenomenon. That is known, the last great irruption of octopos in English waters dates back to the fiftieswhen they appeared in mass and disappeared in just one or two years. That historical memory remembers the unpredictable of the phenomenon: no one can ensure if the wave will be repeated or if it has been an isolated episode.
For fishermen, this uncertainty is crucialbecause its economic future depends on both the continuity of the boom and the ravages that may have caused in crustacean populations.
Social and cultural impact. The emergence of octopus has not only lived in economic terms. In Brixham, the animal has become identity symbol Local: murals in coffee shops, neons in port buildings, viral chef videos showing how to prepare it and innovative dishes that have found good reception among neighbors and tourists.
In fact, the creature has gone from exotic rarity to mass consumption product in an environment not accustomed to it. Popular enthusiasm contrasts with fear of those who see traditional species of English fishing, fundamental for the diet and trade of the region.
Between bonanza and fear. Thus, the octopus invasion On the southern coast of England it reflects the complex interaction between climate change, fishing economy and marine ecology. While some celebrate the closest to an unexpected mana, others They fear a catastrophe that permanently alters the balances of his underwear.
Plus: The experience of the fifties remembers that the octopus can disappear as suddenly as it came, but the Global warming suggests that phenomena of this type should be increasingly frequent. For fishermen, the lesson seems clear: the fate of their tasks no longer depends only on the sea, but on climatic fluctuations and the unpredictable behavior of a cephalopod that has become both salvation and threat.
Image | Pexels, Martijn Klijstra
In Xataka | We knew the octopuses were intelligent. But not to the point of having a “brain” on each arm
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