15/06/26 Octopus bloom, Scottish organic farming

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An emergency by-law has been passed in Cornwall, to restrict the number of boats coming in to take advantage of the ongoing bloom of octopus on the south coast. It's been described as a 'gold rush' as huge sums are being made - Brixham fish market recently experienced a record catch of 103 tonnes - worth £400,000. But the octopus are also causing problems - eating crab and lobster and devastating that industry locally. It's hoped the new by-law will help those stocks recover. The Royal Highland Show is taking place this week, so we're taking a closer look at Scottish agricultural policy. It's devolved, so the Scottish government has developed new post Brexit farming and environment schemes which we'll talk more about later in the week - but one aspect is it's support for organic farming. The latest figures, from the UK government show a 115% rise in Scottish land farmed organically in 2025, accross the UK there was a 7.3% rise. The organic certifiying and campaigning group The Soil Association says political backing and the scrapping of an upper limit on farm size for organic grants has helped. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.