Animal rights activists are continuing their efforts to ban octopus farming with recent legislation introduced to two states:

• North Carolina, House Bill 293 (2025-2026 Session) - North Carolina General Assembly, titled Marine Life Stewardship Act.
• Massachusetts, Bill H.127, an act prohibiting the aquaculture of octopus for the purpose of human consumption.

In North Carolina, the National Aquaculture Association is working with the North Carolina Aquaculture Association and North Carolina Farm Bureau to oppose the bill.  We are attending and speaking to animal rights activism during the North Carolina Aquaculture Development Conference this week in Moorehead City, NC.

In Massachusetts, the NAA was invited to write the bill sponsor and House and Senate Chairs for the Joint Committee on Agriculture and is working with the Massachusetts Aquaculture Association to oppose the bill. 

Bills to ban octopus farming have successfully passed in California and Washington and been attempted in Connecticut, Hawaii (twice), Maine, and New York.  The bills are supported by any mix of the following animal rights organizations: Animal Legal Defense Fund, Animal Rights Initiative, Aquatic Life Institute, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Compassion in World Farming, In Defense of Animals, Mercy for Animals, and Social Compassion in Legislation.

The NAA recommends:

• Check your state for the introduction of legislation banning octopus farming. This is simple to do. Search for your legislature website and use the provided search box to find introduced bills using the search term “octopus.”
• Inform the bill sponsor(s) and committee of referral farming octopus is not possible, the arguments to support a ban are false and misleading, and passing a ban creates an opportunity for future bans on legitimate candidate or currently farmed aquatic animals.
• Contact the NAA Office, naa@nationalaquaculture.org, to inform us of the legislation.

If you have questions, please contact the NAA Office at naa@nationalaquaculture.org.