AN ACT to prohibit aquaculture of any species of octopus for purposes of human consumption.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Article 16A of Chapter 113 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

§ 113‑219.  Aquaculture of any species of octopus unlawful.

(a)        For the purposes of this section, the term octopus means a cephalopod mollusk with a soft body and eight 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.

(b)        No person shall engage in the aquaculture of any species of octopus in the State for the purpose of human consumption.

(c)        No business entity shall sell, possess, or transport any species of octopus in the State that is the result or product of aquaculture.

(d)       A person who violates any provision of this section, or any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, shall be subject, upon order of a court, to a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) per day of the violation, and each day during which the violation continues shall constitute an additional, separate, and distinct offense.

(e)        The Department may adopt rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this section.

SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.