Research has shown that octopuses are sentient and intelligent beings who experience a variety and depth of emotions. Despite this, some companies are planning to farm these creatures for food. Some of the details from Nueva Pescanova’s proposal are that the octopuses would be kept in tiny tanks with other octopuses and be exposed to […]
Tag: octopus
Octopus farming turns my stomach – but are some species really more worthy than others?
The collective noun for a group of octopuses, in case you were wondering, is a consortium – not, as some wags might tell you, a seafood buffet. I myself don’t eat octopus, and have made a lot of noise about why: they’re as smart as parrots, their brain is spread over their arms, they are […]
Why We Must Reject Octopus Farming Before It Begins
Octopuses have existed for millions of years and are recognized as some of the most intelligent animals in the sea. In 2020, My Octopus Teacher, a Netflix original documentary film, captured the heartfelt relationship between humans and octopuses, placing a spotlight on these miraculous creatures. However, they are all too often treated as a commodity, […]
Factory Farm In Canary Islands Will Slaughter 1 Million Octopi Every Year
Millions of animals are killed in factory farms each year. Many factory farms raise livestock animals for slaughter, but a new plan threatens to introduce octopus to the same fate. According to Science Alert, Spanish company Nueva Pescanova has invested €65 million to build the world’s first commercial octopus farm in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, […]
100-pound sailfish jumps into a boat and impales Maryland woman
A 100-pound sailfish that jumped into a boat off the coast of Florida and impaled a Maryland woman fishing there was brought to the hospital. Last week’s attack left 73-year-old Katherine Perkins with a groin injury. She claimed that the fish moved so quickly that she didn’t have time to respond, according to a report […]
Study: Same ‘Jumping Genes’ are Active in Octopus and Human Brains
Transposons are DNA sequences that move from one location on the genome to another, shuffling or duplicating. These elements were first identified more than five decades ago by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory geneticist Barbara McClintock. For example, transposons make up approximately 50% of the human genome and up to 90% of the maize genome. In […]
Biden Administration Announces Plans to Protect Oceans, Including New Marine Sanctuary off New York
In celebration of World Oceans Day on June 8th and National Ocean Month, the Biden administration announced a series of actions to take to protect our oceans. Among the plans is a proposal for a new marine sanctuary off New York, which is home to Sperm Whales and Sea Turtles. The plan includes initiating the […]
New Evidence Suggests Octopuses Are Capable of Emotional Pain
Evidence from a new study suggests that octopuses experience pain emotionally, in addition, to physically; meaning that these intelligent sea creatures process pain similarly to how mammals do. While many invertebrates demonstrate a reflex response to physical stimuli, the ability to truly experience “pain” involves the emotional components of suffering and distress in addition to […]