Octopus invasion threat to fishermen’s livelihoods 21/7/08
A plague of octopuses is hitting the Western Isles and attacking fishermen’s livelihoods.
Concerned fishermen are witnessing a massive invasion of octopuses in the Minch, the seaway between the Hebrides and the mainland, as well as on the islands' west Atlantic coast.
Other alien creatures like squid, a related cephalopod, which previously inhabited the southern seas around France or even Cornwall are also moving north to the islands.
The two-feet long octopus clings onto the outside nets of creels laid of the seabed to trap the shellfish. They stretch their huge mouth inside the netting to engulf the lobster. It devours the helpless lobster by sucking the flesh out of its shell leaving the tail.
Duncan MacInnes, secretary of the Western Isles Fisherman's Association, said: "With octopus, there used to be two or three a day but now fishermen are reporting catching a couple of hundred a day."
"They are a predator against lobster and kill a lot in creels. The lobster catch is significantly down in the last three years but its unclear if that is due to an abundance of octopus."
He added: “"This year there has also been a bonanza of squid around Rockall.
One fisherman who trawls off Harris said:" We are catching them in the trawls as well and I know of one small creel fisherman who had 42 lobsters eaten in just one day."
Octopus and squid are a delicacy in the Far East but excessive transport costs makes it uneconomic to exploit the lucrative market.
Marine scientists believe that sea temperatures have risen over 1% in 25 years resulting in cold water species like cod and sand eel shifting towards the Artic and being replaced by fish which prefer warmer environment.
Not only have octopus numbers exploded in deep sea they are now infesting shallower water along the shoreline.
Worryingly, the invading menace is attacking the staple catch of the Hebrides important creel fishing industry and destroying lobsters in vat numbers.
