World octopus and squid populations

Ocean with rising temperatures is reducing fish populations and acidifying waters by human
activity. New research shows that these changes to marine environments are leading to an
increase of cephalopods, the invertebrate group that includes octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish.
Scientists have noticed a growth in cephalopod. But conclusions from national fisheries can be
tricky. Because changes in catch amounts can also be influenced by factors the change in the
amount of time people spend fishing, like the price of fish and the cost of fuel, or by technological
advances that allow fishers to catch more. So an increase in cephalopod catch doesn’t necessarily
mean there are more cephalopods in the ocean. Climate change could have unpredictable effects,
squeezing generation times to less than a year and some other species are becoming extinct.
Scientists state that many cephalopods are cannibals. “There’s always competition stabilizing
things,” she says. “I don’t know whether we’ll eat them first or they’ll start eating each other".

Supplied by Gabriela Maurel