Legislative Progress

Fortunately, policymakers are taking action. Since 2022, lawmakers in several states have introduced bills to ban octopus farming. Two states—California and Washington—have passed laws banning octopus farming within their borders. California's law also bans the sale of farmed octopuses or farmed octopus meat. Seven other states—Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, North Carolina, Hawai'i, and Oregon—have also introduced bills to ban octopus farming.

At the federal level, the Opposing the Cultivation and Trade of Octopus Produced through Unethical Strategies (OCTOPUS) Act would ban octopus farming nationwide and prohibit imports of farmed octopus products, cutting off access to the world’s largest consumer market. These laws are critical in not only protecting U.S. shorelines but also sending a strong message to global investors that octopus farming has no future.