Yucatán Leads Mexico’s Octopus Production With More Than 28,000 Tons

Mérida, Yucatán — Yucatán cemented its place as Mexico’s top octopus producer in 2025, landing 28,789 tons of the mollusk — more than Campeche and Baja California Sur combined, according to data from the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (Conapesca).

The volume placed octopus tenth among Mexico’s most heavily harvested species, an activity that sustains jobs and income for coastal communities.

According to the Statistical Yearbook on Aquaculture and Fisheries, Campeche ranked second with 8,951 tons, followed by Baja California Sur with 1,258 tons. Those three states accounted for the country’s entire national output of the species.

The octopus fishery also ranked among the three most commercially valuable during the same period, generating more than 3.386 billion pesos — a 57 percent increase over 2024.

Officials estimate that 385 larger vessels and 1,143 smaller boats hold permits to catch the mollusk, an activity that provides employment and income for fishing communities across the country.

Marking International Octopus Day, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, through Conapesca, highlighted the fishery’s economic and social importance and called for responsible harvesting to help conserve the species.

The Maya Octopus, a Yucatán Native

Among the five octopus species identified in Mexico is the Maya octopus (Octopus maya), which is endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula and therefore holds particular importance for the region’s fishing industry.

The other recognized species are the green octopus (Octopus hubbsorum), the brown octopus (Octopus bimaculatus), the two-spot California octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) and the white-spotted octopus (Octopus americanus).

Yucatán’s outsized role in the fishery rests both on its contribution to national output and on the income it generates for the communities that catch and sell the mollusk.