S1080Chapter SENATE,130 No.of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 106 the following section:- Section 107.

1080(a) STATEFor OFthe NEWpurposes JERSEYof 222ndthis LEGISLATUREsection,  the PRE-FILEDfollowing FORwords INTRODUCTIONshall, INunless THEthe 2026context SESSIONclearly  requires  otherwise, Sponsoredhave by:the following meanings:- “Aquaculture”, waters used primarily and directly in the commercial cultivation of aquatic organisms including finfish, mollusk or crustacean in a controlled environment.

Senator“Octopus”, NILSAa I.cephalopod mollusk with a soft body and 8 limbs belonging to the order Octopoda and does not include wild-caught octopuses or octopuses propagated, cultivated, maintained, reared or harvested only for research purposes unrelated to commercial production.

CRUZ-PEREZ“Wild-caught‘ Districtor 5“wild-captured" (Camdenany andspecies Gloucester)of Senatoroctopus DOUGLASharvested J.from its natural marine environment.

STEINHARDT(b) DistrictNo 23person (Hunterdon,shall Somersetengage andin Warren)the  aquaculture Co-Sponsoredof by:any species of octopus for the purpose of human consumption.

Senators(c) Zwicker,No O'Scanlon,business Mukherji,entity B.Smith,shall Gopal,sell, Stackpossess andor Diegnantransport         SYNOPSIS      Prohibits aquaculture of any species of octopus forthat purposeis ofthe humanresult consumption.or product of aquaculture.

 (d) CURRENTWhoever VERSIONviolates OFany TEXTprovision     of Introducedthis Pendingsection Technicalor Reviewany byrule Legislativeor Counsel.regulation adopted pursuant thereto, shall be subject, upon an order of a court, to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 per day of the violation, and each day during which the violation continues shall constitute an additional, separate and distinct offense.

  Any Ancivil Actpenalty prohibitingimposed thepursuant aquacultureto ofthis anysection speciesmay ofbe octopuscollected forwith thecosts purposein ofa humansummary consumptionproceeding andpursuant supplementingto Titlechapter 430A ofor themay Revisedbe Statutes. collected  in     a Becivil Itaction Enactedcommenced by the Senatecommissioner. and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 In     addition 1.  to a. any Aspenalties, usedcosts inor thisinterest section:charges, the superior court may assess against the violator the amount of economic benefit accruing to the violator from the violation.

    (e) “Aquaculture”Nothing means the same as defined in this section 3shall ofprevent P.L.1997,any: c.236 (C.4:27-3).

    (i) “Octopus”person meansfrom aengaging cephalopodin mollusk with a soft body and eight limbs belonging to the orderwild-capture Octopoda,of andany doesspecies notof includeoctopus wild caught octopuses or octopuses propagated, cultivated, maintained, reared, or harvested only for researchthe purposespurpose unrelatedof tohuman commercialconsumption; production.

    and b.   (ii) Nobusiness personentity shallfrom engageselling, inpossessing theor aquaculturetransporting of any species of octopus inthat is the Stateresult foror theproduct purpose of humanbeing consumption.wild-caught.

    (f) c.    The Nodivision businessmay entityadopt shallrules sell,and possess,regulations oras transportmay anybe speciesnecessary ofto octopusimplement in the Stateprovisions that is the result or product of aquaculture.this section.

    (g) d. Any Aspecies person who violates any provision of thisoctopus section,that orare anywild rulecaught orand regulationland adoptedin pursuantthe thereto,commonwealth shall be subject,regulated uponunder order322 ofCMR adue court, to aoctopus civilbeing penaltyshipped not to exceed $1,000 per day of the violation, and eachmarketed daythroughout during which the violationcountry, continuesregulations shallgoverning constitutetheir antransport, additional,handling separate, and distinctsale offense. are Anynecessary civil penalty imposed pursuant to thisdifferentiate subsectionbetween mayaquaculture beraised collectedoctopus withproduct costs in a summary proceeding pursuant to the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999,” P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.), or may be collected in a civil action commenced by the Secretary of Agriculture.  In addition to any penalties, costs or interest charges, the Superior Court, or the municipal court as the case may be, may assess against the violator the amount of economic benefit accruing to the violator from thewild violation.caught octopus.

     e.  The Secretary of Agriculture may adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the “Administrative Procedure Act,” P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

       2.    This act shall take effect immediately.

    STATEMENT        This bill prohibits the aquaculture of any species of octopus for the purpose of human consumption.  In addition, this bill prohibits a business entity from selling, possessing, or transporting any species of octopus that is the result or product of aquaculture.  Any violation of the bill’s provisions would be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000, and each day during which the violation continues would constitute an additional, separate, and distinct offense.       The practice of octopus aquaculture has raised ethical and environmental concerns due to the highly advanced cognitive abilities and complex behaviors exhibited by these animals.  Octopus farming practices and conditions, including inadequate living environments and confinement, may subject octopus to significant stress and suffering, compromise their well-being, and lead to adverse behavioral changes.  As carnivores, octopuses require a high-protein diet sourced from wild fish and shellfish which could substantially increase demand on marine resources, further depleting fish stocks and disrupting marine ecosystems.

Additionally, octopus aquaculture poses further risks to the marine ecosystems due to the heightened potential for the spread of infectious pathogens, which may impact other marine species and ecosystems.