Vice Speaker Tony Ada has introduced a bill to prevent octopus farming on Guam, citing animal welfare and environmental concerns.
Bill 247-38, co-sponsored by Sen. Sabina Perez, states that octopuses are highly intelligent and sensitive creatures, and farming would cause stress, aggression and high mortality.
The bill also notes that environmental damage could occur from escaped octopuses disrupting ecosystems or from pollution and disease. The animals also need to consume a large amount of wild-caught fish, according to the bill.
Octopus farming is already illegal in California and Washington, and measures are pending in Hawaii and New Jersey, as well as in the U.S. Congress.
The bill would also ban the importation of farmed and genetically modified octopus species into Guam, and it would prohibit genetically modifying or altering the animals.
The bill does not prohibit catching wild octopus.
