A wildlife trust has deemed 2025 as the year of the “blooming octopus” after a significant increase in numbers was noticed off the south-west coast of England, breaking records set back in 1950.
The trust’s annual maritime wildlife review outlines how this increase is believed to have been caused by the rise in sea temperature. Such an increase is referred to as a “bloom.”
The charity’s statements are supported by official statistics, which show that fishermen caught more than 1,200 tonnes of octopus during the summer months of 2025, a significant increase from previous years.
The “bloom” is a drastic increase on previous years, as only once since 2021 have more than 200 tonnes of octopus been caught; meaning this year saw an increase of nearly six times previous years.
Experst recalled that the majority of octopus spotted where of the Octopus vulgaris species, a species commonly seen in the warmer Mediterranean Sea. This specific species wa ssreported as seeing a 1500 perecent increase on figures from 2023 along one stretch of the devon and cornwall coast.
In an interview with the BBC, Matt Slater from the Cornwall wildlife trust said that “it really has been exceptional”. Furthermore, he commented on how the increase has allowed him and his team to analyse the activities of the octopus.
“We’ve seen them cleaning themselves. And we’ve even seen them walking, using two legs just to nonchalantly cruise away from the diver underwater.”
– Matt Slater, Cornish Wildlife Trust
It’s currently unclear whether the increase will become a constant for British Summers, or whether it is another natural phenomenon caused by global warming. The changing conditions could mean that we won’t see such an exaggerated bloom in the following years.
As well as Octopus, the Wildlife Trusts of South and West Wales have noted A record number of puffins on Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire this year. This was following a conservation effort to rid the island of the invasive Brown Rat species.
