A network analysis of global cephalopod trade

Abstract

The global trade in cephalopods is a multi-billion dollar business involving the fishing and production of more than ten commercially valuable species. It also contributes, in whole or in part, to the subsistence and economic livelihoods of thousands of coastal communities around the world. The importance of cephalopods as a major cultural, social, economic, and ecological resource has been widely recognised, but research efforts to describe the extent and scope of the global cephalopod trade are limited. So far, there are no specific regulatory and monitoring systems in place to analyse the traceability of the global trade in cephalopods at the international level. To understand who are the main global players in cephalopod seafood markets, this paper provides, for the first time, a global overview of the legal trade in cephalopods. Twenty years of records compiled in the UN COMTRADE database were analysed. The database contained 115,108 records for squid and cuttlefish and 71,659 records for octopus, including commodity flows between traders (territories or countries) weighted by monetary value (USD) and volume (kg). A theoretical network analysis was used to identify the emergent properties of this large trade network by analysing centrality measures that revealed key insights into the role of traders. The results illustrate that three countries (China, Spain, and Japan) led the majority of global market movements between 2000 and 2019. Based on volume and value, as well as the number of transactions, 11 groups of traders were identified. The leading cluster consisted of only eight traders, who dominated the cephalopod market in Asia (China, India, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam), Europe (the Netherlands, and Spain), and the USA. This paper identifies the countries and territories that acted as major importers or exporters, the best-connected traders, the hubs or accumulators, the modulators, the main flow routes, and the weak points of the global cephalopod trade network over the last 20 years. This knowledge of the network is crucial to move towards an environmentally sustainable, transparent, and food-secure global cephalopod trade.

Environmental assessment of common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) from a small-scale fishery in Algarve (Portugal)

“…Portugal has the second octopus' consumption per capita worldwide (1.7 kg per year) (Josupeit 2008), and cephalopods are one of the fastest growing products in the global seafood trade in value and volume (Ospina-Alvarez et al 2022). Therefore, the global demand for octopus' products is expected to increase as well as the economic-social importance of this fishery in Portugal, and any environmental improvement will have a significant impact on the long-term sustainability of the fishing activity.…”

“…Typically, octopuses are caught worldwide by both industrial fleets (trawlers and jiggers) and small-scale artisanal fleets (Pita et al 2021). The catch by large-scale fisheries is practically unregulated since octopus are often not the target species (Ospina-Alvarez et al 2022). Regarding artisanal fisheries, restrictions exist, especially in southern Europe, but due to low enforcement, high levels of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are assumed (Pita et al 2021).…”

“…Global catches of octopuses increased, almost doubling from 179,042 tonnes in 1980 to 355,239 tonnes in 2014, but biological data for most species are still scarce and in most cases no management of stocks or assessment exists (Sauer et al 2021). Octopus landings are led by China, Japan, and Spain, and recent decreases in catches in Morocco and Mauritania, two of the most important supplier countries, resulted in more restrictive management measures (Ospina-Alvarez et al 2022). To support the increasing octopus demand, octopus aquaculture is advancing in different regions due to their appealing features (e.g.…”

A checklist of cephalopods from continental shelf of Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

“…Cephalopods play a significant role as a source of nutrition for humans, fish, crustaceans and even other cephalopods. In terms of economic importance, cephalopods are a significant contributor to the fisheries industry in many countries across the globe with a collective net value in the billions of dollars (Ospina-Alvarez et al 2022). The worldwide cephalopod trade industry is a multi-billion dollar business that centers on just 10 of the most commercially important cephalopod species.…”

Biometric Characteristics of the Siboga Squid Uroteuthis (photololigo) Sibogae (Adam, 1954) from the South East Coast of India

“…The importance and demand of the cephalopod fisheries are ever-growing globally. However, research efforts to describe the extent and scope of the global cephalopod trade are limited (3) . Cephalopods fisheries contribute to world landings in capture fisheries and its proportion is increasing steadily over recent decades (4) .…”