[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1947 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1947
To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce
from authorizing commercial octopus aquaculture operations in the
United States, the exclusive economic zone, and the waters of the
United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 4, 2025
Mr. Whitehouse (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce
from authorizing commercial octopus aquaculture operations in the
United States, the exclusive economic zone, and the waters of the
United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Opposing the Cultivation and Trade
of Octopus Produced through Unethical Strategies Act of 2025'' or the
``OCTOPUS Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Commercial octopus aquaculture.--The term ``commercial
octopus aquaculture'' means the farming of octopuses to be
slaughtered for human consumption or use and sold through
marketplaces.
(2) Exclusive economic zone.--The term ``exclusive economic
zone'' means the zone established by Presidential Proclamation
Number 5030, dated March 10, 1983 (16 U.S.C. 1453 note;
relating to the exclusive economic zone of the United States of
America).
(3) Octopus.--The term ``octopus'' means a member of the
order Octopoda.
(4) Reexport.--The term ``reexport'' has the meaning given
that term in section 1742 of the Export Control Reform Act of
2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801).
(5) United states.--The term ``United States'' means the 50
States, the District of Columbia, and the territories and
possessions of the United States.
(6) Waters of the united states.--The term ``waters of the
United States'' has the meaning given that term in section
120.2 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON AUTHORIZING COMMERCIAL OCTOPUS AQUACULTURE.
The Secretary of Commerce--
(1) shall not issue any permit or in any other way
authorize any person to conduct commercial octopus aquaculture
operations in the United States, the exclusive economic zone of
the United States, or the waters of the United States;
(2) shall coordinate with the Secretary of Interior to
ensure commercial octopus aquaculture is not permitted or
authorized through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
or any other department; and
(3) not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act and jointly with the Secretary of the Interior,
shall issue a final rule to prohibit commercial octopus
aquaculture operations in the United States, the exclusive
economic zone of the United States, and the waters of the
United States.
SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION AND REEXPORT OF COMMERCIALLY FARMED
OR AQUACULTURED OCTOPUS.
(a) In General.--The following are prohibited:
(1) The importation into the United States of commercially
aquacultured octopus, including any living or dead specimens,
parts, or derivatives, or any product containing specimens,
parts, or derivatives of such octopus.
(2) The reexport of octopus described in paragraph (1).
(b) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) applies with respect to
articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or
after the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this
Act.
(c) Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (a) shall, for
each violation, be subject to a civil penalty of not more than
$100,000, or the fair market value of the octopus involved, whichever
is greater.
(d) Rulemaking.--The Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with
the Secretary of the Interior and in consultation with the Commissioner
of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shall issue a final rule to
prohibit octopus described by subsection (a)(1) from being imported
into or reexported from the United States.
SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION UPON IMPORTATION.
A person that imports into the United States an octopus, including
any living or dead specimens, parts, or derivatives, or any product
containing specimens, parts, or derivatives of such octopus, shall
certify on the date of importation that such octopus is not a
commercially aquacultured octopus.
SEC. 6. EXCEPTIONS.
Sections 3, 4, and 5 shall not apply with respect to octopus that
are used solely--
(1) for public display by an accredited or licensed
aquarium or zoo;
(2) in a breeding program of an accredited or licensed
aquarium or zoo; or
(3) for research purposes carried out by an accredited or
licensed aquarium or zoo, a museum, a college, a university, a
Federal or State agency, or any other person under a State or
Federal permit to conduct noncommercial scientific research.
SEC. 7. REPORTING OF HARVEST METHODS FOR OCTOPUS IMPORTS.
The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration shall ensure that one or more trade programs of the
National Marine Fisheries Service require the reporting of harvest
methods for imports of octopus, including any value-added product that
is composed fully or partially of octopus.
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