California Makes History as the Second State to Prohibit Octopus Farming in the U.S.

By Livia Schonenberg @ 2024-09-29T00:31 (+2)

On September 27th, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 3162, the California Oppose Cruelty to Octopuses (OCTO) Act into law, prohibiting octopus farming and the sales of commercially farmed octopus products in California. The OCTO Act, co-authored by Assemblymembers Steve Bennett (D-38) and Laura Friedman (D-44), is a significant milestone in the global movement to ban the harmful practice. The Octopus Farming Ban Campaign, launched by Aquatic Life Institute (ALI) in 2022, took root with a mission to unveil the harms associated with such facilities and to influence a global ban on octopus farming.

Earlier this year, on April 9th, Aquatic Life Institute’s Tessa Gonzalez, and Animal Rights Initiative’s Amanda Fox, delivered powerful in-person testimonies for the OCTO Act, which supported the bill’s successful passage through the committee and eventually the Senate.

ALI is honored to have played a key role in this major achievement, and we express our gratitude to co-sponsors, Animal Legal Defense Fund and Social Compassion in Legislation, for their unwavering advocacy in making this milestone possible.

This builds on the March victory when Governor Jay Inslee signed HB 1153 into law, making Washington the first state to ban octopus farming. With California now following suit, our efforts are gaining momentum  as we push for more statewide bans. We are also supporting the federal ‘Opposing the Cultivation and Trade of Octopus Produced through Unethical Strategies (OCTOPUS) Act,’ introduced in July by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Lisa Murkowski.

We continue to highlight the significant challenges of octopus aquaculture, emphasizing that their solitary and territorial nature, advanced cognitive abilities, carnivorous diet, and complex nervous systems make them especially ill-suited for aquaculture environments. In addition to these inherent issues, there are no approved humane slaughter methods for octopuses. Octopus farming would also produce nitrogen and phosphorus waste, while introducing contaminants like fertilizers, algaecides, herbicides, and disinfectants, all of which contribute to environmental pollution. Moreover, the risk of disease transmission from farmed octopuses to wild populations in the event of escapes presents a serious threat to wild animal populations. Take a look at our report, Why Cephalopod Farming Must be Rejected Before it Starts.

This advocacy falls into ALI's '4R Approach to Seafood System Reform' ‘reject’ category, opposing practices that introduce additional animals into the seafood system and its supply chain, causing unnecessary suffering.

As we move forward, it is critical to continue our efforts to protect these remarkable animals from the harms of industrial farming practices. Follow our campaign.