Photo by Dear Sunflower
Fishermen, fisheries managers and scientists met at a Defra-hosted conference on 15 October to discuss the surge in octopus numbers off the south-west coast of England, and how regulators and industry should respond. Since 2021, landings of octopus by UK vessels into UK ports have risen by nearly 1,500%, from an annual average of around 220 tonnes to more than 3,700 tonnes.
For some fishermen the bloom has opened up a valuable new fishery almost overnight. For others, particularly those working in shellfish fisheries, it has raised serious concerns about the future of their businesses. Defra and the MMO will publish a summary of the discussions, which will feed into future decisions on how the fishery is managed.
A threat and an opportunity
Fishermen and fisheries managers told the conference that octopus predation has decimated shellfish stocks. They also raised concerns about more boats working the same grounds, which is causing tension and safety concerns, as Baird Maritime reports. That picture is consistent with a study published in January, in which 57.6% of crab and lobster fishermen surveyed in the region reported a negative effect on their businesses between January and August 2025.
Mike Cohen, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, said the industry had proposed the conference. “The sudden arrival of this fast-growing, short lived and highly predatory species into British waters upends a lot of our established knowledge and expectations about our coastal ecosystems,” he said. “They are both a threat and an opportunity for fishermen and a massive challenge for fisheries management.”
He described the collaborative approach as “absolutely essential if we are going to rise to the challenges of our changing environment”.
Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Anjali Goswami, called the rise in octopus numbers “a stark reminder of how quickly our marine ecosystems can change”, adding that bringing the different groups together was “an important step towards assessing the impacts of this developing phenomenon as well as the best way to respond.”
Evidence from home and abroad
Scientists presented the latest evidence on the environmental drivers of the bloom, octopus stock dynamics, research priorities and potential management options. International experts described the bloom’s effects on fishing in Brittany and shared how Spain and Australia manage similar fisheries, The Fishing Daily reports.
Isobel Johnston, MMO Head of Sustainable Fisheries, said: “Fishermen are at the heart of this developing fishery, so it is vital that industry, scientists and regulators work together as we consider how it should be managed.”
Building on existing work
The conference follows a series of steps the MMO set out in July. These included setting up an Octopus Management Group to advise on long-term management, monthly publication of octopus and shellfish landings data, and an online portal for divers and anglers to report sightings. The MMO is also working to establish regular octopus sampling at Brixham and Newlyn, and sharing information with the governments of Jersey and Guernsey. Octopus-related projects are eligible for funding under the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme.
How the fishery is managed will matter well beyond the south-west. The bloom has divided the inshore fleet between those who have switched to octopus and those whose shellfish catches have collapsed. Any management measures will need to work for both, while the evidence on whether the bloom will persist is still emerging.