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Spain abandons plan for world’s first commercial octopus farm
Spanish aquaculture company Nueva Pescanova has withdrawn its €65 million project to build the world’s first commercial octopus farm on the Canary Islands. The company said the decision was driven solely by business and regulatory considerations, but the move follows a five‑year dispute with port authorities in Las Palmas and a wave of global animal‑welfare protests sparked by the documentary “My Octopus Teacher”.
The proposed facility would have produced about 3,000 tonnes of octopus annually, with the animals slated to be killed by rapid freezing at –3 °C. Environmental groups argued that octopuses are highly intelligent and can feel pain, and previous attempts at octopus farming have failed due to aggression and cannibalism. The global octopus market has grown from roughly $1.3 billion to $2.7 billion between 2010 and 2019, while production rose only modestly to about 380,000 tonnes per year. In the United States, the states of Washington and California have already banned octopus farming.
Entities
California · Canary Islands · Las Palmas · Nueva Pescanova · Spain · Washington · octopus
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 2 SOURCES] Washington and California have banned octopus farming. e-thessalia.gr · www.in.gr
- [● 2 SOURCES] The decision was justified by business and regulatory issues. e-thessalia.gr · www.in.gr
- [● 2 SOURCES] The global octopus market value grew from $1.3 billion to $2.7 billion between 2010 and 2019. e-thessalia.gr · www.in.gr
- [● 2 SOURCES] The farm would have produced 3,000 tonnes of octopus per year. e-thessalia.gr · www.in.gr
- [● 2 SOURCES] Nueva Pescanova withdrew a €65 million plan for an octopus farm. e-thessalia.gr · www.in.gr
- [● 2 SOURCES] Octopuses would be killed by rapid freezing at –3 °C. e-thessalia.gr · www.in.gr
- [● 2 SOURCES] The farm was to be located in the Canary Islands, Spain. e-thessalia.gr · www.in.gr
- [● 2 SOURCES] Global animal‑welfare protests influenced the cancellation. e-thessalia.gr · www.in.gr