Octopus surge spreads up UK coast as far as Scotland, study finds
The surge in sightings of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates was first recorded in 2025 off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall. Photograph: Kirsty AndrewsView image in fullscreenThe surge in sightings of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates was first recorded in 2025 off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall. “We have had blooms before but everything I am seeing is telling me this is the biggest bloom we have seen, it is quite different.”The common or Mediterranean octopus, Octopus vulgaris, is native to UK waters but ordinarily in such small numbers that it is rarely seen.
- ▪The surge in sightings of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates was first recorded in 2025 off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall.
- ▪Photograph: Kirsty AndrewsView image in fullscreenThe surge in sightings of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates was first recorded in 2025 off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall.
- ▪“We have had blooms before but everything I am seeing is telling me this is the biggest bloom we have seen, it is quite different.”The common or Mediterranean octopus, Octopus vulgaris, is native to UK waters but ordinarily in such small nu
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The surge in sightings of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates was first recorded in 2025 off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall. Photograph: Kirsty AndrewsView image in fullscreenThe surge in sightings of one of the world’s most intelligent invertebrates was first recorded in 2025 off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall. Photograph: Kirsty AndrewsMarine lifeOctopus surge spreads up UK coast as far as Scotland, study findsRecord numbers linked to warming waters is mixed news for fishers, with shellfish catches down but octopus catches boomingMatthew TaylorMon 8 Jun 2026 03.00 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleRecord numbers of octopuses found off the south-west coast of England last year have now spread as far as Scotland and Wales and are transforming the fishing…
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