Year of the octopus in UK's warm seas

WARM conditions have led to the “year of the octopus” with the biggest bloom in 75 years off the south west coast of England.

- BY EMILY BEAMENT

Cornwall as the South West experiences the biggest bloom in 75 years; below, puffin

Divers and snorkellers reported numerous sightings, while fishermen were finding them in crab and lobster pots and when trawling, conservationists said.

But elsewhere UK coastal and marine wildlife has been hit by pollution spills, destructive fishing and ocean heatwaves, with climate change driving new and invasive species into our seas.

In their annual review of the year, the Wildlife Trusts have charted the highs and lows for wildlife and habitats around the UK’s coasts.

The trusts said 2025 was bookended by environmental disasters, with a collision between an oil tanker and a container ship in the North Sea in March spilling huge quantities of plastic resin pellets, and nearly 4.5 tons of bio-beads released from a water treatment plant in Eastbourne, East Sussex, in November.