‘The Year of the Octopus’ in English Waters

A British environmental organisation has named 2025 the ‘year of the octopus’ after a record number of octopus sightings in the coastal waters of the archipelago.

A mild winter followed by an unusually warm spring is the reason.

This concerns the common octopus, a species of cephalopod that is very common in the Mediterranean Sea, with a population range stretching from the coastal areas of England in the north, down along the entire west coast of Africa in the south, and out into the eastern Atlantic.

The species is now experiencing a sharp increase in population in British coastal waters, reports The Guardian. The warm weather over the past year has meant that more young octopuses have survived and developed into adults.

Local fishermen have reported record catches of octopus, which in some places exceed normal catch levels tenfold.

An increase in the invasive species Japanese spider crab in the same areas is believed to have contributed to further favourable conditions for octopuses, which like to eat crab.

Cover photo: A two-month-old common octopus screws on a jar lid in the hope of finding food. Archive photo. Photo: Jørgen Jessen/Scanpix/TT