208
astonishing feature of the octopus and it cephalopod relatives is its skin’s ability to
change colour, iridescence and texture. Near-instantaneous changes in colour and
luster are achieved via the contraction and relaxation of thousands of specialized
pigment-containing cells, the chromatophores, along with an underlying layer of
two other cell types, leucophores and iridiphores, which reflect light. Changes in
skin texture are achieved via expansion and contraction of specialized patches of
tissue (papillae) that can alternatively form bumps and “horns” or become almost
completely flat. Because these structures are directly innervated by neural centres
and controlled by the brain, changes in body appearance can occur in less than
30 ms. These abilities, combined with changes in behaviour and posture, enable the
octopus to camouflage against the natural background, or even to mimic objects and
animals in the environment (e.g., coconut, sea snake) (O’Brien et al. 2019).
Trade and Market of Octopuses
It has been reported that octopus consumption is limited to Japan, Republic of Korea
and Northern Mediterranean countries and national authorities have taken strict
steps to protect species due to the excessive exploitation of octopus resources, especially in the Eastern Mid-Atlantic. In 2004, Moroccan closed octopus fishing for
several months as a protection measure. China is by far the main octopus fishing
nation. This country started octopus catching rather recently. China is catching
octopus in the Eastern Central Atlantic, under fishing agreements with several
African countries. Japanese catches are stable. China became the main octopus
exporter in 2004, when the Moroccan production was hit by a major crisis due to an
imposed ban on octopus fishing. Despite the Moroccan recovery in 2005, China
continued to be the main exporter also during this year. In value terms, however,
Morocco is still the main octopus exporter, followed by Spain. China is only number three of octopus exporters in value terms (Josupeit 2008).
The Moroccan octopus season ended in September with lower catches than in
2016 and consequently higher prices. Cold storage holdings in Morocco are practically empty, as stock is being sold as soon as it comes in. The winter season had a
slow start in December, with mostly smaller sized octopus catches, while demand
for larger sizes has been high, especially in the USA. Morocco decided to delay
opening the winter season for octopus by a few days until 5 December 2017 in the
northern and southern areas. The TAC for the first month of the season was set at
815 tonnes. At the same time, Mauritania opened its winter season. Despite the relatively high quota for the first month, prices for Moroccan octopus continued to rise.
Octopus landings in northern Spain dropped 47% from the beginning of the season
in July to the end of September 2017. Portugal stopped fishing for 1 month in the
last quarter of 2017 to let the stocks recover. The ArmAlgarve Octopus Fishing
Association suggested a longer fishing ban, but the authorities have not reacted to
this suggestion. Octopus prices in Indonesia, India and Pakistan have increased
recently, and landings were very scarce. Most of the octopus from India and Pakistan
was exported to China, where it was processed and re-exported to other markets
3 Molluscan Shellfish
astonishing feature of the octopus and it cephalopod relatives is its skin’s ability to
change colour, iridescence and texture. Near-instantaneous changes in colour and
luster are achieved via the contraction and relaxation of thousands of specialized
pigment-containing cells, the chromatophores, along with an underlying layer of
two other cell types, leucophores and iridiphores, which reflect light. Changes in
skin texture are achieved via expansion and contraction of specialized patches of
tissue (papillae) that can alternatively form bumps and “horns” or become almost
completely flat. Because these structures are directly innervated by neural centres
and controlled by the brain, changes in body appearance can occur in less than
30 ms. These abilities, combined with changes in behaviour and posture, enable the
octopus to camouflage against the natural background, or even to mimic objects and
animals in the environment (e.g., coconut, sea snake) (O’Brien et al. 2019).
Trade and Market of Octopuses
It has been reported that octopus consumption is limited to Japan, Republic of Korea
and Northern Mediterranean countries and national authorities have taken strict
steps to protect species due to the excessive exploitation of octopus resources, especially in the Eastern Mid-Atlantic. In 2004, Moroccan closed octopus fishing for
several months as a protection measure. China is by far the main octopus fishing
nation. This country started octopus catching rather recently. China is catching
octopus in the Eastern Central Atlantic, under fishing agreements with several
African countries. Japanese catches are stable. China became the main octopus
exporter in 2004, when the Moroccan production was hit by a major crisis due to an
imposed ban on octopus fishing. Despite the Moroccan recovery in 2005, China
continued to be the main exporter also during this year. In value terms, however,
Morocco is still the main octopus exporter, followed by Spain. China is only number three of octopus exporters in value terms (Josupeit 2008).
The Moroccan octopus season ended in September with lower catches than in
2016 and consequently higher prices. Cold storage holdings in Morocco are practically empty, as stock is being sold as soon as it comes in. The winter season had a
slow start in December, with mostly smaller sized octopus catches, while demand
for larger sizes has been high, especially in the USA. Morocco decided to delay
opening the winter season for octopus by a few days until 5 December 2017 in the
northern and southern areas. The TAC for the first month of the season was set at
815 tonnes. At the same time, Mauritania opened its winter season. Despite the relatively high quota for the first month, prices for Moroccan octopus continued to rise.
Octopus landings in northern Spain dropped 47% from the beginning of the season
in July to the end of September 2017. Portugal stopped fishing for 1 month in the
last quarter of 2017 to let the stocks recover. The ArmAlgarve Octopus Fishing
Association suggested a longer fishing ban, but the authorities have not reacted to
this suggestion. Octopus prices in Indonesia, India and Pakistan have increased
recently, and landings were very scarce. Most of the octopus from India and Pakistan
was exported to China, where it was processed and re-exported to other markets
3 Molluscan Shellfish