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.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill defines definitions establishing the scope of the Act: commercial octopus aquaculture, exclusive economic zone, octopus (order Octopoda), reexport, United States, and waters of the United States, requires prohibition on Secretary of Commerce issuing permits or authorizing commercial octopus aquaculture in U.S. territory and waters, with mandatory joint final rule within one year, and requires prohibition on importation and reexport of commercially aquacultured octopus (living, dead, parts, derivatives, products), effective 1 year after enactment, with civil penalties up to ,000 or fair market value. It relies on compliance mandates, trade restrictions, reporting requirements, and definition changes. The main policy areas are Agriculture, Education, Science & Space, and Immigration.
Who Benefits and How
Animal welfare organizations would be affected, Wild-caught octopus fishers could face fewer barriers, and Accredited aquariums and zoos could face fewer barriers.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Potential commercial octopus aquaculture operators could face higher barriers, Importers of commercially farmed octopus could face higher barriers, and Foreign commercial octopus aquaculture operations could lose revenue opportunities.
Key Provisions
- Defines definitions establishing the scope of the Act: commercial octopus aquaculture, exclusive economic zone, octopus (order Octopoda), reexport, United States, and waters of the United States.
- Requires prohibition on Secretary of Commerce issuing permits or authorizing commercial octopus aquaculture in U.S. territory and waters, with mandatory joint final rule within one year.
- Requires prohibition on importation and reexport of commercially aquacultured octopus (living, dead, parts, derivatives, products), effective 1 year after enactment, with civil penalties up to ,000 or fair market value...
- Requires requirement for any person importing octopus (living, dead, parts, derivatives, or products) to certify on the date of importation that the octopus is not commercially aquacultured.
- Exempts exemptions from the aquaculture ban, import ban, and certification requirements for octopus used solely for public display, breeding, or research by accredited aquariums, zoos, museums, colleges, universities...
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill defines definitions establishing the scope of the Act: commercial octopus aquaculture, exclusive economic zone, octopus (order Octopoda), reexport, United States, and waters of the United States, requires prohibition on Secretary of Commerce issuing permits or authorizing commercial octopus aquaculture in U.S. territory and waters, with mandatory joint final rule within one year, and requires prohibition on importation and reexport of commercially aquacultured octopus (living, dead, parts, derivatives, products), effective 1 year after enactment, with civil penalties up to ,000 or fair market value.
Key Policy Areas
Agriculture, Education, Science & Space, Immigration
Primary Purpose
The bill defines definitions establishing the scope of the Act: commercial octopus aquaculture, exclusive economic zone, octopus (order Octopoda), reexport, United States, and waters of the United States, requires prohibition on Secretary of Commerce issuing permits or authorizing commercial octopus aquaculture in U.S. territory and waters, with mandatory joint final rule within one year, and requires prohibition on importation and reexport of commercially aquacultured octopus (living, dead, parts, derivatives, products), effective 1 year after enactment, with civil penalties up to ,000 or fair market value.
Policy Domains
Section 3 - Prohibition on authorizing commercial octopus aquaculture
Identified Gains
- Animal welfare organizations
- Wild-caught octopus fishers
- Accredited aquariums and zoos
- Universities and research institutions
- Wild-caught octopus supply chain
Identified Costs
- Potential commercial octopus aquaculture operators
- Importers of commercially farmed octopus
- Foreign commercial octopus aquaculture operations
- Octopus importers
- Octopus importers and seafood distributors
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Whitehouse (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Customs and Border Protection, Department of Commerce and Interior (rulemaking burden), Federal and state research agencies
Positive-direction: Federal and state research agencies
Negative-direction: Customs and Border Protection, Department of Commerce and Interior (rulemaking burden), NOAA and National Marine Fisheries Service
Foreign commercial octopus aquaculture operations, Potential commercial octopus aquaculture operators
Wild-caught octopus fishers, Wild-caught octopus supply chain
Importers of commercially farmed octopus, Octopus importers, Octopus importers and seafood distributors
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary_of_commerce"
- → Secretary of Commerce
- "secretary_of_interior"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "cbp_commissioner"
- → Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- "secretary_of_commerce"
- → Secretary of Commerce
- "secretary_of_interior"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "importer"
- → Person importing octopus into the United States
- "noaa_administrator"
- → Administrator of NOAA
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The farming of octopuses to be slaughtered for human consumption or use and sold through marketplaces.
A member of the order Octopoda.
As defined in section 1742 of the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4801).
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology