II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4810 

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 

JULY 25, 2024 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Opposing the Cultiva5 tion and Trade of Octopus Produced through Unethical 

6 Strategies Act of 2024’’ or the ‘‘OCTOPUS Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘‘aquaculture’’, 

4 with respect to octopus, means the farming of octo5 puses to be slaughtered for human consumption or 

6 use. 

7 (2) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

8 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means the zone estab9 lished by Presidential Proclamation Number 5030, 

10 dated March 10, 1983 (16 U.S.C. 1453 note; relat11 ing to the exclusive economic zone of the United 

12 States of America). 

13 (3) OCTOPUS.—The term ‘‘octopus’’ means a 

14 member of the order Octopoda. 

15 (4) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

16 States’’ means the 50 States, the District of Colum17 bia, and the territories and possessions of the United 

18 States. 

19 (5) WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES.—The 

20 term ‘‘waters of the United States’’ has the meaning 

21 given that term in section 120.2 of title 40, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations. 

23 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON AUTHORIZING COMMERCIAL OC24 TOPUS AQUACULTURE. 

25 The Secretary of Commerce— 


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•S 4810 IS

1 (1) shall not issue any permit or in any other 

2 way authorize any person to conduct commercial oc3 topus aquaculture operations in the United States, 

4 the exclusive economic zone of the United States, or 

5 the waters of the United States; and 

6 (2) shall coordinate with the Secretary of Inte7 rior to ensure commercial octopus aquaculture is not 

8 permitted or authorized through the United States 

9 Fish and Wildlife Service or any other department. 

10 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION AND REEXPORT OF 

11 COMMERCIALLY FARMED OR 

12 AQUACULTURED OCTOPUS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The following are prohibited: 

14 (1) The importation into the United States of 

15 commercially aquacultured octopus, including any 

16 living or dead specimens, parts, or derivatives, or 

17 any product containing specimens, parts, or deriva18 tives of such octopus. 

19 (2) The reexport of octopus described in para20 graph (1). 

21 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) applies with 

22 respect to articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse 

23 for consumption, on or after the date that is 1 year after 

24 the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (c) PENALTY.—Any person who violates subsection 

2 (a) shall, for each violation, be subject to a civil penalty 

3 of not more than $100,000, or the fair market value of 

4 the octopus involved, whichever is greater. 

5 SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION UPON IMPORTATION. 

6 A person that imports into the United States an octo7 pus, including any living or dead specimens, parts, or de8 rivatives, or any product containing specimens, parts, or 

9 derivatives of such octopus, shall certify on the date of 

10 importation that such octopus is not a commercially 

11 aquacultured octopus. 

12 SEC. 6. EXCEPTIONS. 

13 Sections 3, 4, and 5 shall not apply with respect to 

14 octopus that are used solely— 

15 (1) for public display by an accredited or li16 censed aquarium or zoo; 

17 (2) in a breeding program of an accredited or 

18 licensed aquarium or zoo; or 

19 (3) for research purposes carried out by an ac20 credited or licensed aquarium or zoo, a museum, a 

21 college, a university, a Federal or State agency, or 

22 any other person under a State or Federal permit to 

23 conduct noncommercial scientific research. 


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1 SEC. 7. REPORTING OF HARVEST METHODS FOR OCTOPUS 

2 IMPORTS. 

3 The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At4 mospheric Administration shall ensure that one or more 

5 trade programs of the National Marine Fisheries Service 

6 require the reporting of harvest methods for imports of 

7 octopus, including any value-added product that is com8 posed fully or partially of octopus. 

Æ 


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