When Arthur Dewhirst hauled in his nets earlier this year, expecting a typical catch of plaice, turbot, and Dover sole, he was met with a startling sight. Instead of shimmering fish, hundreds of octopuses writhed and squirmed across his ship’s deck.
His immediate reaction? “Dollar signs! Dollar signs! Dollar signs!” he recalled with a laugh, reflecting on the unexpected bounty from his trawler in Brixham, Devon. This remarkable summer, fishing crews along England’s southern coast have reported an unprecedented surge in octopus catches. Sold for approximately 7 pounds per kilo, this new harvest sometimes brought Mr. Dewhirst an additional 10,000 pounds (or over $13,000) a week.
The ‘octopus invasion’ is the buzz of Brixham, home to England’s largest fish market. A local cafe now boasts an octopus-themed mural, and a restaurant serves octopus alongside traditional fish and chips, with its owner even sharing cooking demonstrations on social media for this species, which is still relatively new to British plates.
While the phenomenon remains a puzzle, scientists suggest that warming sea temperatures are making the region more hospitable for this type of octopus, usually found off the Mediterranean coast. Steve Simpson, a professor of marine biology at the University of Bristol, states, “climate change is a likely driver” of this population boom. He explains that as waters grow warmer, Great Britain, situated at the northern edge of the octopus’s natural range, becomes increasingly suitable for these creatures.
This boom has brought joy to many trawler crews in this picturesque fishing port. However, for those who primarily fish for crab and lobster, the feeling is one of growing anxiety. Initially, they too netted tons of profitable octopuses that had colonized their shellfish pots. But now, they frequently find only empty shells and skeletal remains, clear evidence that the eight-armed newcomers are devouring their valuable crustaceans.
Everyone agrees this situation is unprecedented. Dave Driver, 64, remarked that in his 49 years of fishing, he has never before encountered octopuses in his nets, even with his modest catches from shallower waters. At the Brixham Trawler Agents’ auction, managing director Barry Young reported that between January and August, a staggering 12,000 tons of octopus were sold, with 48 tons moving on a single day.
“We just got invaded,” Mr. Young recounted. “Day on day of more and more. It was phenomenal that we were seeing these amounts, and it was a windfall for everybody.”
Yet, there’s a downside: Mediterranean octopuses are not only highly intelligent but also fiercely predatory. Mr. Young vividly described how, “They were using the crab pots as a dining room, as a restaurant. The octopus were eating crabs and lobsters. They are ferocious animals. You can just imagine the devastation they were causing as they were going through, eating anything in their path.”
Mr. Young recalls a similar mass arrival of octopuses in the early 1950s, which then vanished within a year or two. Predicting what will happen next year is impossible. “They could turn up or they could not. We didn’t know they were turning up this year,” he said with a chuckle, adding, “They didn’t ring us and say, ‘We are on our way.’”
As summer gives way to autumn, catches have begun to decline. On a recent morning, only two boxes of octopus remained at the fish market by 8 a.m., holding one creature weighing about 12 pounds and another at 15 pounds. The remaining 1,200 kilos of the day’s octopus had already been sold by 6 a.m., likely destined for Spain and Portugal, where they command higher prices than in Britain.
Robert Andre Simonetti, owner of Brixham’s Simply Fish restaurant, has embraced the surge. He shared his cooking method: salting octopus overnight, simmering it for up to two hours with onion and a bay leaf, allowing it to cool slowly, then chargrilling or roasting it. He admitted that preparation can “be a messy old job, you get ink everywhere,” but insisted the flavor— “almost like a strong lobster”— makes it worthwhile. “The whole town was talking about it because it’s a rarity to catch so much. We served it chargrilled with hummus sauce. It went really well,” he proudly stated. Mr. Simonetti now confidently declares Brixham “the octopus capital of England, without a doubt.”
Even before this recent influx, a neon image of the eight-limbed creature adorned a harborside building in Brixham. In May, a mural celebrating the octopus was added to the front of Tides, a local cafe, a design chosen by owner Claire Brinicombe to reflect the abundant catches reported by local fishermen. “It’s the year of the octopus,” she affirmed.
However, the mood is less celebratory further down the Devonshire coast in Salcombe, where shellfish fishermen are now grappling with the potential long-term costs of the octopus boom. Crab and lobster are Jon Dornom’s primary catch. But one February morning, as he hauled in his pots, he was met by “hundreds of aliens.”
“It was a bit of a shock; we had never had to deal with them before,” he recalled. “They are incredibly strong when they hold on in a pot. It is all you can do to get one out.” He added, “We were putting them in bins on the stern, and they were crawling out. They were so active we didn’t know what we were doing.” The crew quickly adapted, and on one trip, Mr. Dornom caught nearly three tons, which he called “a nice day,” bringing in approximately 20,000 pounds (almost $27,000).
But this boom quickly turned to bust. Mr. Dornom, 64, began finding his lobster pots empty, save for skeletal and shell remains, with the flesh conspicuously absent from the claws. The future of his business now hinges on whether these octopuses will return next year, and the extent of the damage they’ve already inflicted on the crab and lobster populations he depends on.
“If the boat doesn’t catch, you don’t get a wage,” Mr. Dornom said, standing at the helm of his 15-meter vessel as it navigated Salcombe harbor. He reflected on how his destiny is now intertwined with that of the unpredictable cephalopod. “I personally am terrified.”