Eurogroup for Animals and Compassion in World Farming are calling for the world’s first commercial octopus farm to be scrapped, after plans obtained for its development revealed the animal cruelty and environmental consequences it would cause.

The plans, submitted to the General Directorate of Fishing of the Government of the Canary Islands by the company Nueva Pescanova, and uncovered by Eurogroup for Animals, have raised serious concerns, which are outlined in this case study.

We are calling on the EU to ban octopus farming, and restrict the use of public funds to support octopus farming developments, or any other new industrial animal-based farming in the light of significant and growing scientific evidence that it is killing our planet.

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) sets the right foundational objectives for the management of fisheries and fish populations in the EU’s waters. Yet, to date, it still ignores fish welfare.

Since Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) requires that fishery policy “pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals” and the current CFP only provides for the conservation of all marine biological resources and the management of fisheries activities, future fisheries policy should explicitly provide for animal welfare.

A life worth living for fish and other animals in aquaculture systems can be achieved by ensuring the right inputs and monitoring outcomes across the 5 domains. We welcome the option in the Commission’s 2021 Inception Impact Assessment to introduce species-specific requirements for farmed fish.

Here we set out recommendations based on science and existing guidelines that should be implemented as legal standards. Many of these recommendations are applicable across species and are based on current best practices.

This briefing serves as an annex to our White Paper - No Animal Left Behind: The need for a new Kept Animals Regulation.

The sentience of decapod crustaceans and cephalopod molluscs and their ability to feel pain is well established and widely recognised. Wild capture and farming of these animals for food is going on without welfare standards. There is an urgent need to establish science based standards for the transport, slaughter and farming of decapod crustaceans, and for the prohibition of the farming of cephalopod molluscs before the sector emerges.

Every year, somewhere around one trillion (1,000,000,000,000) wild fish are captured, with a significant majority being killed for food. Even with this conservative estimate, this far outnumbers any animal farmed for food, and yet despite scientific evidence that fish are sentient – public concern and consumer awareness about fish and their welfare is far behind that of other farmed animals. This report looks at the various hazards faced by wild fish throughout the process of capture, through to handling and death, and proposes measures and strategies to reduce unnecessary suffering.

Wild capture fisheries are the last major food sector and last animal producing sector to be based on wild harvest. Fishing activities take place far out of sight of most citizens, and wild capture fisheries have operated and developed without considering their impact on the fish they catch. This can change. Commercial fishers should become the stewards of the sea. Fish are their livelihood: any improvement to the way fish are captured, handled and slaughtered, i.e. an improved approach to animal welfare in wild
capture fisheries, is an improvement to their harvest. A concerted effort is required from the fishery sector and from regulators to implement meaningful improvements.

Facts and figures on European public perceptions of fish welfare, based on research carried out by ComRes on behalf of Eurogroup for Animals and Compassion in World Farming between 30th April and 8th May 2018 using internet polling. 9,047 adults across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden, The Netherlands, and Czechia responded.

This report provides an overview of the extent to which fish welfare might be impacted within the aquaculture industry, by describing the main processes of fish farming and their associated welfare implications. The report then outlines how these welfare issues can be addressed, by considering the current regulatory framework in relation to the welfare of farmed fish, including a critique of the Commission’s 2017 report and recommendations. Finally, this report sets out some recommendations for formal remedial action. Eurogroup for Animals believes that swift action is vital if fish are to be protected from further harm; application of the recommendations in this report would significantly improve the welfare of fish in the aquaculture industry.