New hype? Octopus kebab - tentacles on a skewer trigger a shitstorm
In the German city of Karlsruhe, a snack bar chain has recently started offering an octopus kebab. The octopus kebab is causing a lot of discussion online.
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- In Karlsruhe, a newly introduced octopus kebab with a price tag of 14 euros is causing a stir and controversial reactions on social media.
- Critics criticize the consumption of intelligent animals, while supporters emphasize the taste and the health aspect.
- Octopuses are not considered globally endangered overall, but individual species are severely threatened by fishing and environmental degradation.
The classic kebab - with or without spice - is facing competition: in the German city of Karlsruhe, a snack bar chain has recently started offering an octopus kebab. The price? 14 euros. The average kebab in Germany costs 8 euros.
But it's not the price that's causing discussion online. It's the content. One Facebook user writes: "Karlsruhe can keep it, I'll leave out the hype."
Another user commented: "Very intelligent animals, what a shame."
Snack bar boss wants to offer healthier food
Paul Nicolau, founder of Pescobar, says of the Okto kebab: "I started 15 years ago in Romania, a country where seafood was rare, and I wanted to introduce people to healthier food (...) The taste is between chicken and fish and it's very soft."
Like a traditional kebab, the seafood is marinated and fried on a skewer, then cut from the skewer and seasoned on a grill plate. Not so different in appearance - only the taste is more reminiscent of the Mediterranean than the Bosphorus.
Opinions differ when it comes to taste. One kebab eater says: "No, this has nothing to do with a normal kebab, you can't taste the octopus, it's so fishy because it doesn't come out through all the other things."
Opinions are divided online. Some rave about the sea flavor, others point to the intelligence of the octopus - or the hefty price of 14 euros per filled loaf.
Are octopuses an endangered species?
The fascinating cephalopods, especially octopuses, are not currently considered globally endangered - according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there is currently no clear evidence that any species is under serious threat of extinction.
Nevertheless, there are clear warning signs: Some deep-sea or specialist species such as Opisthoteuthis chathamensis are already listed as "critically endangered" - for example due to bycatch in deep-sea fishing and very slow reproduction.
The main threats are overfishing, habitat destruction - for example through bottom trawling - and environmental pollution, which disrupt the delicate balance in octopus habitats.
