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The rise in global and regional cephalopod landings over the past several decades has led to the hypothesis that cephalopod abundances have increased in response to fishery-induced alterations of marine food webs. However, this hypothesis has yet to be tested due to the absence of direct sampling of non-targeted cephalopod species. We used the feeding habits of pelagic predators as a proxy for cephalopod availability to identify whether there is evidence of increased cephalopod productivity in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (ETP). We tracked the frequency of occurrence of cephalopods in the stomachs of yellowfin tunas (Thunnus albacares) during the 1950s, 1970s, 1990s, and 2000s. We also evaluated the occurrence of cephalopods in the diets of various pelagic predators over the contemporary period (1990s and 2000s) to determine if changes were observed across multiple species. Our results revealed a notable increase in the frequency of occurrence of cephalopods in diets of yellowfin tunas from the 1950s to the present, suggesting an increase in cephalopod production in the ETP since the mid-20th century. The occurrence of cephalopods also increased across many predators’ diets between the 1990s and 2000s, thus providing corroborating evidence of an increase in their productivity. The potential consequences of higher cephalopod production in the ETP, and in ecosystems worldwide, warrant further attention. Higher cephalopod abundances could have important implications for marine fauna, including commercially and ecologically valuable species.

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