MORE than three tonnes of octopus were landed in Jersey last year according to recently published figures, more than double the amount caught in 2024, although the species remains a bycatch and an unwelcome threat to lobster and scallop stocks.
Figures included in the government’s Marine Resources annual report for last year reveal that 3,022kg of common octopus were landed by Jersey fishermen in 2025, and 1.25 tonnes were caught locally by French boats, compared to 0kg in 2024.
However, although the octopus were sold for meat, it was bycatch – meaning that the fishers were not targeting that specific species. Typically, they instead came up in lobster pots.
Numbers of octopus are rising exponentially, and we are not really seeing any fisher target them
Alex plaster, Marine Science and Research Manager at Marine Resources
Alex Plaster, marine science and research manager at Marine Resources, said: “Numbers of octopus are rising exponentially and we are not really seeing any fisher target them. They are on a few more restaurant menus in Jersey but the real market for this is on the continent.
“There is quite a lot of skill involved in making sure that octopus is handled correctly. If it is frozen, it has to blast frozen, especially for export, and there is a lot to do to make it a really good product for the customer, especially in a restaurant.
“The Island has definitely gone through a learning curve over the last 12 to 18 months, and we are still on that journey. It is a different taste, and people are still going to fishmongers asking for such things as brown crab, which is very difficult to catch these days.”
Mr Plaster added: “In the UK, in areas such as Brixham [in Devon], there has been a strong market this year, where the price-per-kilo went up to £8 or £9. With the cost of going to sea these days, £3 to £4 per kilo, as it is in Jersey, does not make it a viable business yet.
“If fishers knew it was a good market, they would be more likely to invest in different gear to catch it. But it seems that market is only going to be on the continent and we would need to invest in quite large blast freezers to get it there.”
Although the price per kilo is still low, fishers have another reason to land octopus: it is eating their prime catch of lobster and crab.
Mr Plaster said: “We do know that octopus predate on lobster, especially in pots. We are seeing a lot of dead lobster shells in pots, which octopus are using as burrows. It is a double whammy for fishers: they are seeing their prime lobsters eaten and being left with a catch that’s not worth nearly as much.
“Octopus are also predating on scallops, which is another one of our key commercial stocks and seems to be a particular problem in Guernsey. We haven’t seen much evidence that they’re predating on spider crabs; that doesn’t seem to be top on the top of the octopus menu.
“We are seeing a lot of problems with our lobster fishery at the moment, and we have brought in new management to try and rebound stocks, but there is really nothing you can do if the octopus move through and almost take out an area.”
Mr Plaster said that it was difficult to identify the cause of the increase in octopus, although it could be down to milder winter sea temperatures. That said, he added, there had been a short-lived population boom in the 1950s, which was abruptly ended by some exceptionally harsh winters in the early 60s.
He said: “It is hard to put your finger on it but, looking at the weather now, we do think that octopus are here to stay, at least for a while. So, it is definitely a time of adaptation for our local industry, and you can see that in the stats”
Mr Plaster said that stocks of bluefin tuna were on the rise and more cuttlefish were being caught, with 6.5 tonnes landed by Jersey boats last year, again as bycatch.
More spider crab was also being caught, he added, especially by French boats.
Last year, 164 tonnes of spider crab were landed in Jersey, while French boats landed more than 3,618 tonnes of the same species caught in the Island’s waters.
