Cuttlefish, like this largefin reef squid, are a popular food, especially in Japan. Their distribution has therefore been declining for decades – but that could perhaps change soon.
There are about 300 species of octopus worldwide, some of which are native to the waters around Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, which is made up of over 150 small islands. However, their population has declined by a good 90 percent since the 1980s, which is mainly due to the fact that Japan has one of the highest consumptions of fish and seafood in the world. The situation is now so drastic that already processed squid have to be imported from South America to meet local demand.
The high level of overfishing of many sea creatures is also due to the fact that it is extremely difficult to breed them in aquaculture and thus set up farms. “Most people think that aquaculture is simple, but it’s actually quite a challenge,” explains Zdenek Lajbner of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). “Let’s take Japanese eel or tuna, for example. Marine scientists have been trying to develop aquaculture for these two animals for decades. Nevertheless, one is still largely dependent on wild catches.”
Now, OIST scientists, led by Jonathan Miller, have developed a method that could finally make commercial breeding of squid possible. Her research primarily relates to large-fin reef squid, of which three different species are native to Okinawa. “We applied knowledge from different areas of aquaculture and made many adjustments,” explains co-author Ryuta Nakajima. “Compared to previous research, the hatch and survival rate of the animals has increased significantly.”
The scientists hope that the situation of the squid can be relaxed in the long term with the help of their breeding method. “This is a groundbreaking step towards sustainable squid farming that works across generations,” says Miller. In the next step, they now want to develop a license for their technology and look for companies that are interested in commercial implementation of aquaculture.