A minimum weight for Octopus

Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation

Authors

Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation

Date Issued

2006

Language

Type

News Item

Accessibility

Open Access

Metadata

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Citation

CTA. 2006. A minimum weight for Octopus. Spore 122. CTA, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Permanent link to cite or share this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/48049

External link to download this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99628

Abstract/Description

Notes

At the end of 2005, the EU Fisheries Council fixed a minimum weight of 450 g (after gutting) for octopus caught in European waters or European imports of octopus fished in the waters of the Eastern Atlantic (Mauritania, Morocco, Senegal). The aim is to protect stocks of young octopus and give them a chance to breed before they are fished. According to the EC, Mauritania and Morocco have already introduced this minimum weight into their legislation. The issue is still to be discussed with Senegal as part of negotiations to renew fisheries agreements. From now on, it is forbidden for octopus under the minimum weight to be on board, transhipped, landed, transported, stored or sold. Scientists estimate that the 450 g minimum weight rule will cut the size of catches by one-quarter for adult females and one half for adult males. But the measure will only prove effective if tight controls are enforced, especially at Spanish landing ports. In Mauritania, octopus caught by small-scale fishers and industrial trawlers account for about 10% of total catches. Before oil drilling began last February, it represented the country s chief source of export revenue. In Senegal, where fishing is also the main source of foreign exchange earnings, octopus fishing accounts for a smaller share of revenue. The most profitable markets for these products are in Asia.