I still see animal lovers eat squid or squid every now and then. I’m not talking about coastal communities whose residents rely on the sea for daily sustenance, but people from places where burgers, tofu patties, or even lionfish tacos (where they’re invasive) are just a menu swipe away.
Many of us, especially divers and water sports enthusiasts, spend our vacations planting coral reefs, moaning about illegal fishing in marine reserves and cleaning up plastic from beaches, but still sea dishes seem to be “normal” pre-diving culture – even in diving agencies.
Why the separation? Maybe it’s willful ignorance: “It’s tasteful/It’s tradition, don’t ruin it for me.” Maybe it’s the convenience of going with the flow when ordering in a group. Or maybe it’s a real blind spot. We are so busy campaigning for sharks or corals that we forget that the humble octopus can feel pain, and we know very little about how it thinks, other than that it is extremely intelligent and can undergo a series of tests that even a young human cannot. Whatever the reason, the discrepancy is impossible to ignore when you lock eyes with a curious cephalopod with a glowing Morse code chromatophore on its skin.
If you are experiencing this internal battle, you should ask if the layers of your plate are really compatible with the conservation ethics that we advocate underwater.
Below are five fact-based reasons why divers and ocean lovers may want to retire octopus (and their cephalopod cousins) from their dinner menus.
1. They can feel
A an important consideration for the British government (LSE University) used eight rigorous neuro-behavioral criteria and found “strong scientific evidence” that octopuses, squids and fish are sentient. That is, they can experience pain, pleasure, hunger, anxiety and so on. (I have written about this before on this page.)
Robin Crook 2021 Painful experiences did this work. Octopus injected with mild acid avoids painful area searched for ward where they received pain relief, the behavior was indistinguishable from the affective pain syndrome.
They have numb fish even passed the “marshmallow test”. The task is to wait two minutes for the preferred shrimp instead of taking the crab immediately, the level self control comparable to crows and chimpanzees.
For the creatures most divers come face-to-face on night dives, these results force us to rethink our actions. When we spear, bake, or cook them, we almost certainly suffer. And this is not even talking about the many places where they are swallowed.
2. The law is being agreed upon
Before we dive into the legal landscape, it’s important to acknowledge the elephant in the room: the United States is playing catch-up on animal welfare.
While the EU has regulated cephalopods in research settings since 2010, and the UK’s Animal Welfare Act now gives them clear legal recognition, America still struggles with “ag-gag” laws that punish whistleblowers instead of abusers.
This lag means that reforms are piecemeal (California here, Washington there) rather than the sweeping, precautionary measures that many European countries already take as a matter of course. In this context, any new U.S. bill or state-level ban on octopus farming is a hard-won but crucial step toward closing the welfare gap.
- England: Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 now legally recognizes cephalopods as endangeredprovide guidelines for handling and slaughter.
- United States (state level): California became the second state (after Washington state). Octopus breeding in 2024link intelligencewell-developed nervous systems and the ecological costs of raising carnivores.
- United States (federal): Two parties The Octopus Act of 2025which was just reintroduced in the Senate, bans octopus aquaculture nationwide and bans imports of farm-raised octopus.
Legislators rarely move at this pace unless science and public sentiment compel them to.
3. Agriculture does little to fix and can make things worse
The proposed Nueva Pescanova octopus farm in Spain has become a controversial topic. Critics note it he used to catch more than three kilograms of wild fish to raise a kilogram of octopus, causing food pollution and forcing solitary animals into overcrowded reservoirs where cannibalism and stress probably. US and California legislators noted the same welfare and sustainability pitfalls when drafting the bans. In short, aquaculture does not solve wildlife pressure; increases it.
4. Wildlife is showing warning signs
FAO Market Analysis Report Octopus catches have declined in recent years, with tight supplies driving up prices, and some fisheries are already nearing biological limits. Meanwhile, demand is projected to exceed 625,000 tonnes by 2025, nearly double the current ocean harvest. Therefore, each grilled fish destroys a top predator that makes up the reef and seagrass ecosystems that many divers travel to see.
5. It conflicts with environmental ethics
Divers and ocean enthusiasts shell out hard-earned dollars for the privilege of instant interaction with a curious octopus or the (increasingly rare) color-changing paperfish.
Their eating choices send a conflicting message to operators, coastal communities and fellow travelers about what and who is valued.
How does this weaken other messages? What about sharks? About preserving sea beds? About stopping the whale?
What can you do?
- Avoid eating cephalopods. Be creative and try plant-based “calamari.” There are dozens of recipes for it, including oyster mushrooms and palm hearts.
- Support legislative efforts. Sign petitions or contact representatives supporting the OCTOPUS Act or similar bans.
- Share your relationship with them. Post photos, essays, and social posts that highlight cephalopod personalities and their ecological roles. Be their voice.
- Participate in citizen science. Record trends with projects like the Ref Check Foundation to help scientists track population trends.
Eating cephalopods becomes ethically and environmentally unacceptable, especially for a society that bills itself as ambassadors of the ocean.
Giving up octopus on the breakfast plate is a small sacrifice to satisfy our appetite panic we feel that when we encounter one of the rare cephalopod friends.
