Blog Post | 114 KY. L. J. ONLINE | October 31, 2025
The Tangled Tentacles of Octopus Farming: An Analysis of the OCTOPUS Act of 2025
By: Katherine Walker, Staff Editor, Vol. 114
Earlier this year, the OCTOPUS Act of 2025 made its first appearance in the U.S. Senate. The bill aims to ban commercial octopus farming, the practice of producing octopus for consumption, by prohibiting octopus farming in U.S. waters[1] and banning the import of commercially farmed octopus into the U.S.[2] From a policy standpoint, octopus farming is an unethical practice that endangers vital ecosystems and local economies. Therefore, Congress should pass the OCTOPUS Act.
The debate surrounding octopus farming arises amid an increasing global demand for octopus meat and a severely limited supply due to warming and acidifying seas.[3] Fishermen attempting to keep up with the increasing demand places a strain on wild octopus fisheries.[4] Proponents of octopus farming assert that it will alleviate the strain of the high demand.[5] While there are no octopus farming operations in the United States today,[6] a Spanish company is developing an experimental octopus hatchery and has its sights set on a large-scale commercial operation.[7]
However, the project has met strong opposition for multiple reasons. First, the practice is inherently cruel and inhumane. Octopuses exhibit a high level of sentience, meaning they experience feelings and emotions, such as pain and distress.[8] They also tend to be highly inquisitive and curious animals that enjoy playing and solving puzzles.[9] Because of their sentience and high intelligence, octopuses have high enrichment needs that commercial farming environments simply cannot fulfill.[10] Such neglectful conditions can lead to “stress, aggressive activity, and high mortality rates.”[11] For instance, current plans intend to house octopuses in high densities, despite octopuses’ solitary nature, likely leading to poor welfare and even cannibalistic tendencies.[12] Additionally, farming operations plan to expose octopuses to 24 hour periods of harsh, unnatural light to manipulate the spawning process, although octopuses naturally tend to avoid light.[13] Commercial octopus farming cannot be reasonably accomplished humanely due to the nature of the animal,[14] which ethically precludes octopus farming.[15] Such an unconscionable practice has no place in American waters, and further, indirect participation through allowing octopus farming operations to garner revenue in American markets is equally indefensible.
Second, octopus farming poses a grave risk to surrounding ecosystems. Aquaculture operations frequently pollute surrounding areas with nitrogen and phosphorus,[16] which can create uninhabitable dead zones.[17] The likelihood that many octopus farming operations would be located along ecologically sensitive coastline exacerbates pollution concerns.[18] These areas host “seagrass beds, coral reefs, and nursery grounds,” all of which are crucial for many marine species.[19] Further, octopuses’ uncanny ability to escape enclosures heightens the risk that native species will be introduced to and harmed by the introduction of pathogens, genetic abnormalities, and added competition.[20] Increased truck and boat traffic and plant management practices will likely to contribute to light and noise pollution.[21] As such, octopus farming poses a significant threat to American waters, which are home to numerous vulnerable and vital ecosystems. The OCTOPUS Act shields American waters from the damaging practice, putting the health of those ecosystems and those who rely on such ecosystems first.
Finally, local economic considerations also oppose commercial octopus farming. Local communities will bear the consequences stemming from the environmental damage caused by octopus farming operations, such as poor water quality due to pollution.[22] Further, octopus farming, like other commercial aquaculture operations, exudes a foul odor, which can deter tourism and reduce property values.[23] The increased truck and boat traffic “would add noise, congestion, and safety risks.”[24] Additionally, the livelihood of many local, small-scale fishers would be destroyed by competition from the cheap, commercially produced octopus meat.[25] All in all, octopus farming threatens to rob local communities of their industries, their livelihoods, and even the safety and serenity of their home.
Given that octopus farming poses significant harms, only a highly compelling interest could justify declining to pass the OCTOPUS Act. While intuitively, the expansion of commercial octopus farming may support wild octopus conservation efforts, the impact is not as straightforward as proponents suggest. The suggestion that aquaculture will reduce strain on natural fisheries is inconsistent with recent research.[26] In fact, octopus farming may place additional strains on natural fisheries because of the demanding dietary requirements of octopuses.[27] Farming octopuses requires “three pounds of fish … to produce a one pound of octopus meat.” This poses a unique danger to U.S. marine ecosystems because “American fishing grounds [are] increasing[ly] targeted to supply fishmeal and fish oil for overseas aquaculture operations.”[28] Ultimately, proponents of octopus farming have no compelling justification for the practice and, in order to protect American waters from overfishing, the U.S. has an interest in preventing octopus farming from developing domestically or abroad.
For these reasons, the passage of the OCTOPUS Act is essential. The OCTOPUS Act prioritizes ethical conduct while protecting essential American ecosystems and rural communities. Further, proponents of octopus farming may be justified in their concern for wild octopus fisheries, but traditional avenues for protecting wildlife provide a more appropriate solution.[29] Octopus farming, on the other hand, is a cruel and harmful endeavor that must be prevented, and therefore, the OCTOPUS Act of 2025 should be passed.
[1] Opposing the Cultivation and Trade of Octopus Produced through Unethical Strategies Act of 2025, S. 1947, 119th Cong. (2025).
[2] Id. at § 4.
[3] Eric Scigliano, The World Wants to Eat More Octopus. Is Farming Them Ethical?, Nat’l Geographic (Feb. 21, 2020), https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/octopus-aquaculture-debate; Tik Root, Inside the Race to Build the World’s First Commercial Octopus Farm, Time (Aug. 21, 2019), https://time.com/5657927/farm-raised-octopus (asserting that between 1980 and 2019, the “annual global production [of octopus for consumption] has more than doubled”).
[4] Mary K. McCabe et al., Impacts of Locally Managed Periodic Octopus Fishery Closures in Comoros and Madagascar: Short-Term Benefits Amidst Long-Term Decline, Frontiers Marine Sci., May 10, 2024, at 2.
[5] Katja Döhne, A Brighter Future for Mexico’s Octopuses, Deutsche Welle (Feb. 17, 2022), https://www.dw.com/en/saving-mexicos-octopuses-from-warming-waters-and-overfishing/a-60771388.
[6] Gaea Cabico, Octopus Farming in the U.S. Doesn’t Exist, and a New Bill Wants to Keep It That Way, Sentient Media (June 24, 2025), https://sentientmedia.org/octopus-farming-in-the-u-s-doesnt-exist.
[7] Octopus Farming in Spain Raises Global Animal Welfare and Environmental Concerns, World Animal Prot. (Apr. 23, 2025), https://www.worldanimalprotection.org/latest/news/octopus-farming-in-spain-sparks-global-concern-over-animal-welfare.
[8] Jonathan Birch, et al., Lond. Sch. of Econ. and Pol. Sci., Review of the Evidence of Sentience in Cephalopd Molluscs and Decapod Crustaceans 12, 79-80 (2021), https://www.lse.ac.uk/news/news-assets/pdfs/2021/sentience-in-cephalopod-molluscs-and-decapod-crustaceans-final-report-november-2021.pdf.
[9] Peter Godfreysmith, Octopuses: Playful, Choosy, and Smarter Than You Think, Nat’l Geographic (Sept. 12, 2017), https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/octopuses-playful-choosy-and-smarter-than-you-think.
[10] OCTOPUS Act Reintroduced in the U.S. Senate, Animal Legal Def. Fund (June 5, 2025), https://aldf.org/article/octopus-act-reintroduced-in-the-us-senate.
[11] Id.
[12] Elena Lara, Eurogroup for Animals & Compassion in World Farming 3, Uncovering the Horrors of Octopus Farming, Eurogroup for Animals, (Sarah Bedson ed., 2023).
[13] Id.
[14] Ashifa Kassam, ‘A Symbol of What Humans Shouldn’t be Doing’: The New World of Octopus Farming, The Guardian (June 25, 2023), https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/25/a-symbol-of-what-humans-shouldnt-be-doing-the-new-world-of-octopus-farming.
[15] “What would a captive cephalopod know of joy? I will never again know the thrill of a wild hunt in the open sea. I will never bask in a silver shimmer of moonlight as it filters down through the water from an endless midnight sky.” Shelby Van Pelt, Remarkably Bright Creatures 184 (2022).
[16] Michelle Starr, Scientists Have Warned That We Absolutely Must Not Farm Octopuses, Science Alert (Dec. 29, 2019), https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-warned-that-we-absolutely-must-not-farm-octopuses; Envisioned “Octopus Farms” Would Have Far-Reaching & Detrimental Environmental Impact, Researchers Conclude, NYU (Jan. 24, 2019), https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2019/january/envisioned--octopus-farms--would-have-far-reaching---detrimental.html#:~:text=Unlike%20farmed%20animals%2C%20most%20of,significantly%20more%20pronounced%20with%20octopus.
[17] The Effects: Dead Zones and Harmful Algal Blooms, EPA (Feb. 5, 2025), https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/effects-dead-zones-and-harmful-algal-blooms.
[18] Why the U.S. Must Say No to Octopus Farming Before It Begins, Compassion World Farming (Oct. 10, 2025), https://www.ciwf.com/media-and-news/blog/why-the-us-must-say-no-to-octopus-farming-before-it-begins; Giulia Malerbi, Octopus Farming is a Dangerous Detour for Marine Conservation, Mongabay (Oct. 8, 2025), https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/octopus-farming-is-a-dangerous-detour-for-marine-conservation-commentary.
[19] Malerbi, supra note 17.
[20] Aquatic Life Inst., Why Cephalopod Farming Must be Rejected Before it Starts 5 (2023), https://drive.google.com/file/d/13CKkJJzmGA7bN8DtK9Nc_sF4XbBPMYs5/view.
[21] Why the U.S. Must Say No to Octopus Farming Before It Begins, Compassion World Farming (Oct. 10, 2025), https://www.ciwf.com/media-and-news/blog/why-the-us-must-say-no-to-octopus-farming-before-it-begins.
[22] Id.
[23] Id.
[24] Id.
[25] Id.
[26] Stefano B. Longo et al., Aquaculture and the Displacement of Fisheries Captures, 33 Conservation Biology 832, 839-40 (2019).
[27] Jennifer Jaceuet et al., The Case Against Octopus Farming, 35 Issues in Sci. & Tech. 37, 40 (2019) (asserting that approximately “one-third of the global fish catch is turned into feed for other animals, roughly half of which goes to aquaculture”); Public Policy: Octopus Farming, Compassion World Farming, https://www.ciwf.com/public-policy/octopus-farming (last visited Oct. 18, 2025).
[28] New Report and Footage Expose Growing Threat of Octopus Farming, Compassion World Farming (Oct. 8, 2025), https://www.ciwf.com/media-and-news/press-releases-statements/new-report-and-footage-expose-growing-threat-of-octopus-farming.
[29] For a treaty with the primary purpose of protecting wild fauna and flora through international cooperation, see generally Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Mar. 3, 1973, 993 U.N.T.S. 243.