Fisheries production and market demand

Since 1983, when Caddy was able to state that 'except in a few ocean regions, they (cephalopods) are not subject to exploitation', the decline in many finfish stocks has led to increased attention on other groups such as cephalopods, the increasing economic importance of which is evidenced by the rapid rise in their global landings over recent decades. World cephalopod landings (capture fisheries) rose from 500,000 t in 1950 to a peak of more than 4 million t in 2007, with landings increasing in most regions with the exception of the Northeast Atlantic. New regions such as the Southwest Atlantic and the Southeast Pacific subsequently became important cephalopod fishery areas, supplying new abundant species to world markets (notably Illex argentinus and Dosidicus gigas). In Europe, the potential expansion of cephalopod fishing will require a new focus on monitoring, assessment and management of these fisheries, taking into account the differences in life history between cephalopods and fish. The increasing demand for cephalopods on the international markets has stimulated research on rearing and 'ongrowing' of cephalopods (mainly common octopus) as an alternative to reliance on fisheries.