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The octopus is an animal of interest in the Galician coast, after all, this animal is used as the main ingredient of one of the most popular dishes of its gastronomy. However the fishing of this cephalopod So singular drag difficulties when satisfying market demand.
After the octopus track. Now a new study in which researchers from the Marine Research Institute of the CSIC and Pescanova Biomarine Center have participated, gives us an important clue about stress in the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris). It is a track that It can help us to protect the fisheries of these animals and even improve the treatment they receive in the incipient aquaculture sector.
Supply and demand. The Galician octopus of our tables does not usually have its origin in Galicia. We are not talking about The Galician-Leonese dispute For the origin of the octopus To Feirabut of the fact that the fishing of this cephalopod on the Galician coasts does not represent more than a fraction of the total consumption of the country.
According to data from Vigo lighthousethe octopus campaign 2023/24 resulted in catches of 1.5 million kg (a notable decrease compared to the previous year); while according to data from the Food consumption report in Spain Of 2023, the octopus consumption (next to that of squid) of Spanish households was some more than 41 million kg. Only in preserves, almost 385,000 kg of octopus were consumed according to the report.
Piscifactory octopus? So where does the octopus come from? One of the origins is on the African coastspecifically in the north of the continent. Despite this, world octopus demand implies a huge pressure not only on Galician heshes, but also globally.
In this context, cephalopod fishing progresses towards a new border, that of the aquaculture or fish farming octopus. A border wrapped, yes in the controversy.
While it is true that this practice could relieve pressure on the heshadows and protect coveted species such as overfishing octopus, there are many The voices That they have Raised against The latest projects that point in this direction. The reason: the ethical dilemma to raise for consumption animals whose intelligence It is usually equated with that of some of the most intelligent vertebrate animals such as cats or crows.
Octopus stress. It is not to be surprised therefore the scientific interest in understanding aspects such as stress in these animals. Interest reflected in studies such as The recently published In the magazine Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism. This analysis focused on stress response mechanisms and potential osmoregulation in the common octopus.
The responsible team resorted to liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques, which allowed it to contrast that these animals do not produce cortisol, corticosterone or cortisone, three hormones that we usually associate precisely with response to stress and osmoregulation in vertebrate animals.
An unexpected effect. He Team details that their findings can explain the mass death of octopus on the Galician coast seen in times of heavy rains. A phenomenon that It also extends To other geographical contexts. As they point out, rapid falls in salinity caused by rains could jeopardize the “physiological stability” of animals, a direct consequence of not having mechanisms for response to external stress factors such as cortisol.
Pondering pros and cons. Learning about this fascinating animal not only allows us to satisfy the curiosity that these creatures generate, it can also help us protect them. It can also help those who seek ways to raise these animals in captivity since we can now intuit that the difficulties in responding to stress may be behind the difficulties that this form of aquaculture poses.
It can also help us explain the growing difficulty in fishing these animals, a difficulty reflected in the fall in the volume of catches.
In Xataka | Do not call it “octopus”, call it “giant tongue that licks everything that touches.” Science is clear
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