Cephalopods are among the most cognitively sophisticated invertebrates, capable of problem-solving, play, and learning. Their welfare in captivity and as fisheries targets deserves serious attention.
Cephalopods present a fascinating and urgent welfare case. Their sophisticated cognition implies rich subjective experience, and their capture and killing in fisheries involves significant suffering — hypoxia death in nets, rapid pressure changes, and landing injuries. Octopus farming proposals are particularly concerning: octopuses are solitary, territorial, and have complex spatial needs that intensive aquaculture cannot accommodate. Precautionary welfare standards are urgently needed.