RESTAURANTS are being encouraged to include octopus on their menus to help the local fishing fleet – as the tentacled predators have the potential to decimate shellfish catch.
Paul Dufty, owner of Sumas Restaurant and chair of the Jersey Hospitality Association’s restaurant sub-sector, said that restaurateurs should look to “support local” and adapt to “what’s being caught”.
Earlier this year, Aqua-Mar Fisheries manager Nathalie Porritt said the fleet had noticed a rise in numbers of octopuses.
She explained that they were doing “a lot of damage” to potential lobster, crab and scallop catches.
Ms Porritt also noted that octopuses were being caught “as a by-catch”, as they have been going into lobster and crab pots to feed and becoming trapped.
Mr Dufty described the situation as “hugely concerning” for affected fishers and said that his restaurant had been trying to include octopus on its menu since October.
“We’ve currently got it on as a special,” he added.
“It is something that people may not necessarily be comfortable cooking or may not have cooked before,” Mr Dufty continued.
“It’s not the easiest thing to do but if you do it well and do it properly, it’s delicious. People eat it all over Europe.
“I’d encourage everybody to give it a go”
Ms Porritt added: “If we can get as many people [as possible] locally to eat it or buy it local rather than have to rely on exporting it, it’s definitely beneficial for the fishermen and for the Island.”
She added: “We might as well showcase what products we have got, and I guess right now the reality is that we don’t have many lobsters and crabs, so lets try and push octopus a little more.”
Chef Joe Baker, who owns Pêtchi Restaurant and Bar in Liberty Wharf, said he was a huge fan of the eight-legged mollusc.
“Octopus is an especially invasive species which decimates our local stocks of scallops, brown crab and lobster. Because they are not native, they do not have many predators so our normally balanced eco-system is not used to them.
“So, I urge people to give octopus a go, in the same way that locals in the Caribbean are being urged to eat lionfish.
“I have cooked octopus for years and used it when I appeared on the Great British Menu programme. Customers absolutely love it; we slow cook it here and finish it of in our wood oven, so it is tender in the middle and crispy on the outside.
“It is a meaty dish so goes well with stronger flavours such as wild mushrooms. We actually haven’t seen much of it recently so I urge fishers to bring them to us.”
About the octopus
- The common octopus grows to 25 cm mantle length with arms up to 1 m long. It lives for 1–2 years and may weigh up to 9 kg
- Jersey has seen increased numbers before, including in the late 1950s. Their resurgence tends to be associated with milder winters.
- Their increasing number is a divisive issue in several ways: for some fishers, they are an opportunity to catch and sell a new species; for others, they eat traditional food sources, such as lobsters, so are a menace. Octopuses are also highly sentient and intelligent beings – illustrated through such documentaries as My Octopus Teacher – so many people believe it is unethical to eat them.
