Octopus farming in NC? A bill was filed banning it
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Tahsin Ceylan/Anadolu via Getty Images
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.
Rep. Pricey Harrison, the bill's sponsor, says she doesn't expect the bill to advance while the legislature is focused on Hurricane Helene recovery and other pressing issues. But she still filed the legislation to raise awareness of a potential threat to the coast.
- "We tend to be a reactionary legislature," Harrison tells Axios. "But it's always best if you can get in front of an issue rather than be reacting to an issue."
What's inside: House Bill 293, as drafted, would also prohibit the transport of any otopuseses that are the result or product of aquaculture into North Carolina.
- The legislation would exempt wild-caught octopuses and those "propagated, cultivated, maintained, reared, or harvested" only for research.
- Mecklenburg County Rep. Mary Belk is one of several Democrats who have joined to sponsor the bill.
Threat level: Critics of octopus farming say the operations would strain natural resources, as the carnivorous creatures demand more fishing to accommodate their large protein diet. An estimated three pounds of wild-caught fish are necessary to raise one pound of farmed octopus, NPR reports.
- Environmental activists worry octopus farming would require the intensification of crabbing in North Carolina, where the blue crab population is shrinking.
- "It would be so ecologically devastating to not only wildlife, but also local fishermen and crabbers that are relying on clean water," says Amanda Fox, executive director of the Animal Rights Initiative.
- Beyond the adverse environmental effects, ethical concerns are often raised about confining cognitive octopuses in tanks or nets. Octopuses are smart enough to open jars, solve problems and are master escape artists.
- Some suggest the method of slaughtering an octopus — plunging them into an ice slurry — is also too cruel.
The other side: Nueva Pescanova claims, according to NPR, that raising octopus on a farm helps meet a growing global demand for octopus meat while easing fishing pressure.
- In Oregon, the farm bureau argues the bill would set "a concerning precedent" of restricting agriculture of an entire genus of animal without "clear, science-based justification," Oregon Live reported.