[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4810 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4810

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 25, 2024

Mr. Whitehouse (for himself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Opposing the Cultivation and Trade 
of Octopus Produced through Unethical Strategies Act of 2024'' or the 
``OCTOPUS Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Aquaculture.--The term ``aquaculture'', with respect to 
        octopus, means the farming of octopuses to be slaughtered for 
        human consumption or use.
            (2) Exclusive economic zone.--The term ``exclusive economic 
        zone'' means the zone established by Presidential Proclamation 
        Number 5030, dated March 10, 1983 (16 U.S.C. 1453 note; 
        relating to the exclusive economic zone of the United States of 
        America).
            (3) Octopus.--The term ``octopus'' means a member of the 
        order Octopoda.
            (4) United states.--The term ``United States'' means the 50 
        States, the District of Columbia, and the territories and 
        possessions of the United States.
            (5) Waters of the united states.--The term ``waters of the 
        United States'' has the meaning given that term in section 
        120.2 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON AUTHORIZING COMMERCIAL OCTOPUS AQUACULTURE.

    The Secretary of Commerce--
            (1) shall not issue any permit or in any other way 
        authorize any person to conduct commercial octopus aquaculture 
        operations in the United States, the exclusive economic zone of 
        the United States, or the waters of the United States; and
            (2) shall coordinate with the Secretary of Interior to 
        ensure commercial octopus aquaculture is not permitted or 
        authorized through the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
        or any other department.

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION AND REEXPORT OF COMMERCIALLY FARMED 
              OR AQUACULTURED OCTOPUS.

    (a) In General.--The following are prohibited:
            (1) The importation into the United States of commercially 
        aquacultured octopus, including any living or dead specimens, 
        parts, or derivatives, or any product containing specimens, 
        parts, or derivatives of such octopus.
            (2) The reexport of octopus described in paragraph (1).
    (b) Effective Date.--Subsection (a) applies with respect to 
articles entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or 
after the date that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
    (c) Penalty.--Any person who violates subsection (a) shall, for 
each violation, be subject to a civil penalty of not more than 
$100,000, or the fair market value of the octopus involved, whichever 
is greater.

SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION UPON IMPORTATION.

    A person that imports into the United States an octopus, including 
any living or dead specimens, parts, or derivatives, or any product 
containing specimens, parts, or derivatives of such octopus, shall 
certify on the date of importation that such octopus is not a 
commercially aquacultured octopus.

SEC. 6. EXCEPTIONS.

    Sections 3, 4, and 5 shall not apply with respect to octopus that 
are used solely--
            (1) for public display by an accredited or licensed 
        aquarium or zoo;
            (2) in a breeding program of an accredited or licensed 
        aquarium or zoo; or
            (3) for research purposes carried out by an accredited or 
        licensed aquarium or zoo, a museum, a college, a university, a 
        Federal or State agency, or any other person under a State or 
        Federal permit to conduct noncommercial scientific research.

SEC. 7. REPORTING OF HARVEST METHODS FOR OCTOPUS IMPORTS.

    The Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration shall ensure that one or more trade programs of the 
National Marine Fisheries Service require the reporting of harvest 
methods for imports of octopus, including any value-added product that 
is composed fully or partially of octopus.
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