Devon and Cornwall are the two most south-western counties of the United Kingdom, and both base a significant portion of their economy on fishing, not only for fish but above all for crabs, prawns and other crustaceans. It is since this spring that disturbing news has been arriving from those coasts for the fishermen, as told by some of them, who discovered that their pots didn’t even have a crab, despite it being the season. In their place, hundreds and hundreds of octopuses.
Which octopuses? Common octopuses, Octopus vulgaristhe same ones we find in the Mediterranean: they love warm waters and the northern limit of their range only touches English waters. Or rather it skimmed them: the increase in water temperature is pushing them further and further north. Already in recent years the sightings in England had intensified, but still remained within the confines of occasionality. This year, however, the octopuses arrived en masse.
BIG PROFITS… The stories told by fishermen in Brixham (Devon) and those in Cornwall are very similar. First the empty pots; then, a few weeks later, hundreds of octopuses find themselves trapped there; finally, the discovery of nibbled shells and other remains of crustaceans.
The second phase is the one that gave fishermen hope, at least for a certain period: octopus meat sells for 8 euros per kilo, and some fishermen have increased their earnings by more than 10,000 euros a week. To give an idea of the volumes, between January and August 12,000 tonnes of octopus were sold in Brixham alone.
… And big problems. The problem lies precisely in the remains of animals found near the traps. Octopuses are voracious predators: they love to eat crabs, lobsters and other crustaceans, essentially competing with fishermen, in addition to the fact that, in these quantities, they have a significant impact on the entire ecosystem. Some of the workers in Devon and Cornwall report that their “crop” has halved, and is likely to fall by up to 80% by the end of the year.
Damaged ecosystem. The other, even bigger problem is that in all likelihood this “invasion” is only just beginning. The sea around the two British counties is in the midst of a heat wave that has lasted for at least 18 months, which could be at the root of the summer explosion of octopuses.
And temperatures are certainly not destined to drop, on the contrary: the risk is that octopuses will lead to a very rapid decline in the fishing industry of the south-west.
Then we will have to think about any damage to the ecosystem…
