scallop adapt well to these waters. But there are important challenges due to the
problems with toxins coming from dinoflagellates, and it is necessary an important
impulse on the part of the administration in applying the European legislation on the
evisceration of the pectinids, so that their commercialization is possible.
With regard to oyster, although there is no evidence of the presence of natural
banks for flat oyster (Ostrea edulis), they have been found on the ropes of mussel
culture and on the buoys and baskets for the culture of scallops (source: APROMO).
Other species that could be capable of culture in the Spanish Alboran Sea are
Magallana gigas which is currently cultured in Andalusia in Huelva and Cadiz and
Venerupis pullastra.
20.3.2.2 Octopus Culture
The absence of octopus juveniles that are reared in captivity and the lack of
formulated feed have been established as the main drawbacks for the development
of a large-scale cephalopod aquaculture (Iglesias and Fuentes 2014; Sánchez et al.
2014). In spite of reproduction in captivity which has been achieved, the low
survival of the paralarvae, associated with feeding and the lack of an appropriate
zootechnical protocol, still makes the culture of octopus nonviable. However, a
significant increase in larval survival has been attained recently by the Spanish
Institute of Oceanography, which could mean an important step to full-cycle
aquaculture.
At the moment, O. vulgaris culture is based on catching subadults weighing about
750 g from the sea, keeping them in floating cages (Fig. 20.11) and feeding with
bycatch (low-cost fish or crustacean species) from trawling, until they reach their
commercial size (2.5–3.5 kg) after 3–4 months (Rodríguez et al. 2006; Sánchez et al.
2014). As it was stated before, one facility is nowadays devoted to try to ongrow
octopus, but their production in 2017 and 2018 was negligible.
For industrial-scale production, obtaining a low-cost diet would be essential.
García García and García García (2011) carried out financial and economic analyses
of the feasibility of octopus fattening in cages, estimating that feeding with natural
diets would represent the most important cost of production (38–40% of the total).
Over the last decade, the formats, the nutritional composition, and the formulation of
feed for fattening have been improved (Morillo-Velarde et al. 2012; MartínezMontaño et al. 2018), and some studies recently published show interesting results
(Cerezo Valverde and García García 2017; Cerezo Valverde et al. 2019).
Octopus Fattening in the Western Mediterranean
In the Mediterranean, there are two factors that stand out above all other factors, and
that must be taken into account for the culture of octopus: the high temperature
during the summer months and the factors related to the coastline that could force the
678
A. Ortega et al.
problems with toxins coming from dinoflagellates, and it is necessary an important
impulse on the part of the administration in applying the European legislation on the
evisceration of the pectinids, so that their commercialization is possible.
With regard to oyster, although there is no evidence of the presence of natural
banks for flat oyster (Ostrea edulis), they have been found on the ropes of mussel
culture and on the buoys and baskets for the culture of scallops (source: APROMO).
Other species that could be capable of culture in the Spanish Alboran Sea are
Magallana gigas which is currently cultured in Andalusia in Huelva and Cadiz and
Venerupis pullastra.
20.3.2.2 Octopus Culture
The absence of octopus juveniles that are reared in captivity and the lack of
formulated feed have been established as the main drawbacks for the development
of a large-scale cephalopod aquaculture (Iglesias and Fuentes 2014; Sánchez et al.
2014). In spite of reproduction in captivity which has been achieved, the low
survival of the paralarvae, associated with feeding and the lack of an appropriate
zootechnical protocol, still makes the culture of octopus nonviable. However, a
significant increase in larval survival has been attained recently by the Spanish
Institute of Oceanography, which could mean an important step to full-cycle
aquaculture.
At the moment, O. vulgaris culture is based on catching subadults weighing about
750 g from the sea, keeping them in floating cages (Fig. 20.11) and feeding with
bycatch (low-cost fish or crustacean species) from trawling, until they reach their
commercial size (2.5–3.5 kg) after 3–4 months (Rodríguez et al. 2006; Sánchez et al.
2014). As it was stated before, one facility is nowadays devoted to try to ongrow
octopus, but their production in 2017 and 2018 was negligible.
For industrial-scale production, obtaining a low-cost diet would be essential.
García García and García García (2011) carried out financial and economic analyses
of the feasibility of octopus fattening in cages, estimating that feeding with natural
diets would represent the most important cost of production (38–40% of the total).
Over the last decade, the formats, the nutritional composition, and the formulation of
feed for fattening have been improved (Morillo-Velarde et al. 2012; MartínezMontaño et al. 2018), and some studies recently published show interesting results
(Cerezo Valverde and García García 2017; Cerezo Valverde et al. 2019).
Octopus Fattening in the Western Mediterranean
In the Mediterranean, there are two factors that stand out above all other factors, and
that must be taken into account for the culture of octopus: the high temperature
during the summer months and the factors related to the coastline that could force the
678
A. Ortega et al.