Octopus maya farming progresses in Yucatan

 The National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (CONAPESCA) economically supports the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) of Sisal for the development of Octopus Maya farming technology in an effort to boost the aquaculture activity in the states of Yucatan and Campeche.

In 2004, CONAPESCA contributed MXN 1,845,496 (USD 146,400) for this project to the Multidisciplinary Unit of Teaching and Research of the College of Sciences at UNAM, aimed at the execution of the experimental stage of farming of this cephalopod, also known as red or coastal octopus.

Similarly, in 2008 it issued MXN 1.5 million (USD 119,000) in funding to UNAM – through the Yucatan Octopus Product State Committee System – to undertake the farming pilot stage, and the subsequent development of the commercial stage.

The research project, headed by Carlos Rosas Vazquez, consists of the development of a production system of scale that reaches around 50,000 monthly brood in UNAM facilities.

In July 2009, a team of Yucatan students from  the Multidisciplinary Teaching and Research Unit of the College of Sciences of the UNAM successfully bred the first-ever  Octopus maya species in captivity.

At present, the researchers of the UNAM of Sisal are registering significant advances in the design of the habitats for octopus breeding management.

In addition, experts are working on the capture of wild gravid females, for their later transfer to the laboratory, for acclimatisation, maturation, spawning, egg incubation, hatching of juveniles, and subsequent growth.

The research team also develops pre-fattening technology, although they lack aspects of fattening and farming of breeders' lots.

The researchers are already defining the periods of each of these cultivation stages and their results, which will allow them to obtain the economic indicators to determine its profitability, CONAPESCA informed.

According to the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishery and Foods, 10,706 tonnes of octopus maya were captured in the state of Yucatan between August and December 2009, whereas 2,254 tonnes were obtained in the same period of 2008, shows Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishery and Foods (SAGARPA) data.

Related articles and information:

- SQUID/OCTOPUS MARKET REPORT, 13 January 
- Campeche registers lowest octopus capture in 11 years 
- First-ever octopus bred in captivity

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com