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Scientists have warned that we absolutely must not farm octopuses

#1
C C Offline
https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-...-octopuses

EXCERPT: Octopuses, scientists have argued in a May 2019 essay, should never be farmed - not just because of their intelligence, but because of the environmental impacts such farms would create. It's already started. Global demand for octopus as a food is on the rise, which last year saw prices soaring amid poor supply.

The yield of octopuses fished in the wild is variable, which in turn contributes to an unreliable supply - hence attempts to farm octopuses have already commenced. In multiple countries around the world, efforts are underway to produce an octopus farm, including trials of genetic modifications to accelerate cephalopod aquaculture. This, of course, would produce some known environmental impacts, a team of environmental scientists, philosophers and psychiatrists writes in a recent edition of Issues in Science and Technology. Such impacts include nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from animal waste, interbreeding and the spread of disease, and loss of habitat, to name a few.

But the biggest environmental concern is the octopus diet. Like most farmed aquatic creatures, they're carnivores, and need fish protein and oil in their diet. And octopus larvae only eat live food - that has to come from somewhere. "Feeding most farmed aquatic animals puts additional pressure on wild fish and invertebrates for fishmeal," the researchers wrote. "Around one-third of the global fish catch is turned into feed for other animals, roughly half of which goes to aquaculture. Many fishmeal fisheries are subject to overfishing and are declining."

Octopuses need a lot of food - at least three times the weight of the animal over its lifetime - and making sure their needs are met in factory farms would create more, not less pressure on these already declining fisheries. This would likely decrease global food security for humans. But, even if this problem could be solved, keeping octopuses in factory farms would be cruel... (MORE - details)
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#2
Syne Offline
(Dec 30, 2019 06:16 PM)C C Wrote: This, of course, would produce some known environmental impacts, a team of environmental scientists, philosophers and psychiatrists writes in a recent edition of Issues in Science and Technology.

You know there's some bullshittery afoot when you have philosophers and psychiatrists writing about environmental impact.
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#3
RainbowUnicorn Offline
(Dec 30, 2019 06:16 PM)C C Wrote: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-...-octopuses

EXCERPT: Octopuses, scientists have argued in a May 2019 essay, should never be farmed - not just because of their intelligence, but because of the environmental impacts such farms would create. It's already started. Global demand for octopus as a food is on the rise, which last year saw prices soaring amid poor supply.

The yield of octopuses fished in the wild is variable, which in turn contributes to an unreliable supply - hence attempts to farm octopuses have already commenced. In multiple countries around the world, efforts are underway to produce an octopus farm, including trials of genetic modifications to accelerate cephalopod aquaculture. This, of course, would produce some known environmental impacts, a team of environmental scientists, philosophers and psychiatrists writes in a recent edition of Issues in Science and Technology. Such impacts include nitrogen and phosphorus pollution from animal waste, interbreeding and the spread of disease, and loss of habitat, to name a few.

But the biggest environmental concern is the octopus diet. Like most farmed aquatic creatures, they're carnivores, and need fish protein and oil in their diet. And octopus larvae only eat live food - that has to come from somewhere. "Feeding most farmed aquatic animals puts additional pressure on wild fish and invertebrates for fishmeal," the researchers wrote. "Around one-third of the global fish catch is turned into feed for other animals, roughly half of which goes to aquaculture. Many fishmeal fisheries are subject to overfishing and are declining."

Octopuses need a lot of food - at least three times the weight of the animal over its lifetime - and making sure their needs are met in factory farms would create more, not less pressure on these already declining fisheries. This would likely decrease global food security for humans. But, even if this problem could be solved, keeping octopuses in factory farms would be cruel... (MORE - details)

personally i do not agree with eating octopus
i perceive it the same category [on an intellectual moral comparative scale to anthropological ideation as comparative ethics] as people eating their pets[ you may choose to place this personal opinion under a religious/spiritual construct attached to morals & ethics]

so you know i am biased !

ecologically .. considering they are meat eaters and have a very long marine history, the chance seems probable that they may have the ability to foster some type of organism that could prove to be equal to BSE

should farmed octopus get out and breed, they will likely pass on their genetics to dominate the species.
the unknown impact on them acquiring greater skill and larger breeding survival could well put other land/sea fringe breeding zones under threat.

given that farming will seek to genetically engineer an octopus that is highly adaptable to food sources and immune system that dominates natural borders.
i perceive this as a risk to the bridge between land & sea creature immunology & genetics.

some general considerations
land hunting large octopus that target bird colonies...
shellfish specialization introducing unknown issues to tidal zones.

poisonous octopus that may target large marine animals
seal penguin walrus etc ...

potential invasion of fish farms by octopus

how would they remove a large octopus from a fish farm ?

all that stuff aside
global protein deficit & the economic drivers of food security via leveraged financial supply & demand.

fish farms are already pushing the boundary of the protein deficit issue.
global african swine flu is still expanding

swine flu in cultures where fishing is a primary source of income
specifically countries hit hardest
Cambodia
Vietnam
Laos
china
creates an imbalance toward a false economic principal to service un sustainable resource into the protein feeding requirements.
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#4
billvon Offline
(Dec 31, 2019 12:01 AM)Syne Wrote:
(Dec 30, 2019 06:16 PM)C C Wrote: This, of course, would produce some known environmental impacts, a team of environmental scientists, philosophers and psychiatrists writes in a recent edition of Issues in Science and Technology.

You know there's some bullshittery afoot when you have philosophers and psychiatrists writing about environmental impact.

(Dec 31, 2019 12:01 AM)Syne Wrote:
(Dec 30, 2019 06:16 PM)C C Wrote: This, of course, would produce some known environmental impacts, a team of environmental scientists, philosophers and psychiatrists writes in a recent edition of Issues in Science and Technology.

You know there's some bullshittery afoot when you have philosophers and psychiatrists writing about environmental impact.
Reply
#5
Syne Offline
^^^Someone hasn't figured out how to use a forum yet. Rolleyes
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