There are calls for the world's first commercial octopus farm to be shut down before it can even be built.
According to the BBC, Spanish multinational corporation Nueva Pescanova is preparing to start marketing farmed octopus next year with plans to sell the meat in 2023.
The group managed to beat out competitors in Mexico, Japan and Australia to be the first to announce plans for an octopus farm.
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Producers around the world have been wanting to do this for years, however it's incredibly difficult to have the right conditions for the octopus to thrive.
However, the Spanish company believes they have found the perfect way to rear them under a controlled setting at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.
Nueva Pescanova is planning on being able to produce up to 3,000 tonnes of octopus meat every year and also claim their practices are ethical because it will stop the animals from being taken from the wild.
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The company's website says they are 'firmly committed to aquaculture [farming seafood] as a method to reduce pressure on fishing grounds and ensure sustainable, safe, healthy, and controlled resources, complementing fishing'.
However, scientists and conservationists say the idea of farming octopus is anything but ethical.
Numerous studies have revealed how intelligent octopus are and they have been declared by the UK government to be sentient beings who are capable of feeling pain.
University of Bristol's evolutionary biologist Dr Jakob Vinther said octopuses and humans come from a common ancestor.
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"We have an example of an organism that has evolved to have an intelligence that is extremely comparable to ours," he explained. "This is potentially how it would look if we were ever going to meet an intelligent alien from a different planet."
Compassion in World Farming research manager Dr Elena Lara is calling on governments across the globe to refuse to accept Nueva Pescanova's meat.
"These animals are amazing animals. They are solitary, and very smart. So to put them in barren tanks with no cognitive stimulation, it's wrong for them," she said.
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"The problem with octopus is that they are completely wild, so we don't know exactly what they need, or how we can provide a better life for them."
According to the BBC, octopus are extremely territorial and they could eat one another if they're placed in the same tank together.
Despite requests for information, Nueva Pescanova has refused to explain how their octopus will be killed or what type of conditions they'll be kept in.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy