Common, curled or miscellaneous: The need for species-specific recordings of octopuses to inform stock assessments

Abstract

The curled octopus Eledone cirrhosa and common octopus Octopus vulgaris could be considered resident to the waters around the UK, though the latter is considered rare following historic population crashes and severe range contractions. There is evidence of an emerging fishery for octopus in the UK though understanding population dynamics between the two species and producing meaningful stock assessments are difficult because most landings data are not species specific. This emerging fishery, together with the government’s plan for octopus to be included in fisheries management plans, and a growing desire among fishers and the public to have more fisheries certified for sustainability means there is a need for octopus landings data to be species specific. A similar case has existed for two species of megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis and L. boscii) whereby both species were initially subject to a single total allowable catch (TAC), however concerns about sustainability presented the need for the species to be assessed, and their fisheries managed, separately. We consider this work to be applicable to any other commercially important species which are currently assessed as a single unit but where localised populations may exist.