In 2022, aquaculture farms produced 94.4 million tons of “seafood,” rising from 91.1 million in one year (the industry measures not in individuals farmed but in tons of product, signaling how little it values animals).

The continued intensification of other forms of aquaculture is a troubling sign of things to come for the emerging octopus industry, which is likely to grow along with demand.

Below are five reasons why octopus farming should never happen—and how you can help stop it from happening.

A farm proposed by seafood producer Nueva Pescanova, where one million octopuses would be slaughtered each year, has prompted a worldwide outcry over animal welfare concerns among advocates and scientists alike. Remember, this is just one proposed farm. If the octopus industry keeps intensifying as the rest of animal agriculture has, millions more octopuses will likely suffer and die.

Normally solitary and living in the ocean’s dark depths, octopuses would endure an unnatural environment on intensive farms in harsh lights and crowded tanks.

Due to stress, injury, and vulnerability to disease, around half of farmed octopuses die before they can even make it to slaughter. Those who are killed for food die in several controversial ways, including clubbing them on their heads, cutting into their brains, or—as has been proposed by Nueva Pescanova—freezing them with cold water “ice slurry,” slowing their eventual death.

Alarmingly, despite their increasing use in research and farming, octopuses are not protected under the Animal Welfare Act, essentially leaving profit-driven producers to treat them however they choose.

In a 2022 study, researchers concluded that octopuses have a “highly complex, developed nervous system” and that a captive environment lacking enrichment, such as a farm, may cause them to exhibit stress behaviors. These can include darting through the confined space of their tank, potentially causing physical trauma. Stress can also lead to cannibalism, which causes approximately one-third of the deaths on octopus farms.

Simply put, a tank does not provide the enriching, dynamic environment that octopuses deserve and need. They are curious and resourceful creatures, having shown the ability to solve puzzles and, like chimpanzees, use tools.

A boring captive life can lead these flexible invertebrates to make nearly impossible escapes. There have been documented cases around the world of octopuses getting out of their tank and squeezing through incredibly tight spaces to reach freedom. On aquaculture farms, escaping animals can bring disease into surrounding waters (as we’ll discuss more below).

In 2019, New York University researchers found that the environmental impacts of octopus farming would be “far-reaching and detrimental.” Lead author Dr. Jennifer Jacquet wrote, “Mass producing octopus would repeat many of the same mistakes we made on land in terms of high environmental and animal welfare impacts, and be in some ways worse because we have to feed octopus other animals.”

The study also concluded that octopus farming would produce “high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous pollution from uneaten feed and feces,” potentially contributing to oxygen depletion in the ocean, which causes areas emptied of life, known as “dead zones.”

Like factory farms on land, fish farms use massive amounts of antibiotics in an attempt to control disease, which spreads easily in their crowded and waste-filled facilities. This can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria leaching into surrounding environments and threatening wildlife and humans.

If this bacteria finds its way from fish or octopus farms to the ocean and other waterways, it can impact public health when we are already facing a growing global health threat from treatment-resistant pathogens.

Octopuses may also harbor zoonotic diseases, and some used in laboratories have been found to be infected with cholera, which also affects humans. Considering that three out of four new infectious diseases originate from animals, factory farming yet another species is a dangerous choice.

The global catch of wild octopuses is declining along with octopus populations, but as we have seen elsewhere in aquaculture, farming is no solution to the overfishing of marine life. 

Like salmon, octopuses are carnivores, so farming them requires feeding them other animals, putting more pressure on species captured from the sea for animal feed. It takes about three pounds of fish to produce one pound of salmon, and it’s estimated that it would require this same inefficient protein conversion to produce one pound of octopus meat.

In a 2023 report, the Aquatic Life Institute wrote, “Ample evidence gathered around the world has shown that intensive farming of other carnivorous species, such as [s]almon, [has] caused the progressive and grave decimation of related wild species due to the pathogens, competition, genetic abnormalities, and many other factors. There is profound concern that cephalopod farms would cause similar impacts on already vulnerable and declining wild cephalopod populations.”

The bottom line is that octopuses are complex and intelligent animals who thrive in the depths and freedom of the ocean. Scientists worldwide warn that intensive farming of these cephalopods will harm their welfare and our shared environment.

Learn more about Farm Sanctuary’s efforts to advocate for octopuses and other farmed aquatic animals.

You can do your part to ensure that octopus farming doesn’t happen, too! If you live in California, you can take action right now to ensure that octopus farming doesn’t set foot in the Golden State! The Oppose Cruelty to Octopuses (OCTO) Act would ban the farming of octopuses and the import of farmed octopus products in California—and this critical legislation just unanimously passed the Senate Natural Resources Committee! Now, it’s up to the state Senate to usher the OCTO Act through.

Plus, you can take action from wherever you are. Watch the acclaimed documentary My Octopus Teacher on Netflix and ask friends to join you in seeing it. This film has inspired many to see the depths of octopuses’ inner lives—and you can help continue that momentum for these remarkable animals.

You can also make a difference every time you enjoy a vegan meal. The easiest and most effective way to support all animals used for food is to choose not to eat them.