March 12, 2025 — A leading environmental voice in the North Carolina House has introduced a bill to outlaw octopus farming for human consumption.
Why it matters: Farming and keeping captive one of the most intelligent species is inhumane, critics say, and could harm the coastal ecosystem.
Yes, but: North Carolina has no octopus farms or known plans for any. In fact, no commercial octopus farm exists in the world. So, why file such a bill?
Driving the news: Congress and several states are considering similar legislation in response to international research on breeding octopuses. All the bills are intended to prevent such operations from opening in the U.S.
- Seafood company Nueva Pescanova is seeking permits to build the world’s first commercial octopus farm, with tanks on a dock, in Spain’s Canary Islands, NPR reported.
- Washington and California were the first states to pass bans in 2024, while the OCTOPUS Act has been introduced in Congress. Similar state legislation has been filed in New Jersey, Hawaii and Oregon.
The North Carolina bill has already caught the attention of other top state legislators — but not in a good way.
- “While we’re trying to deliver 90 million dollars in Corn Relief to NC farmers. The Democrats are worried about banning Octopus farming in NC,” House Majority Leader Rep. Brenden Jones posted on X.