Octopus farming would be banned in Oregon under a bill that animal welfare advocates claim is necessary to protect the ocean dwellers from inhumane treatment.

Supporters of House Bill 2557 say now is the time to ban octopus farming, before any investments in such aquaculture projects have been made in the state.

“No such operation has yet come to Oregon, but the purpose of this bill is to stop that before it has a chance to start,” said Zach Hudson, D-Troutdale, the proposal’s chief sponsor.

The legislation would not affect the current methods for commercial octopus fishing, nor would it disallow them from being kept as pets or in zoos or aquariums, Hudson said.

Octopus farming would require confining the “brilliant” and “reclusive” creatures in open nets or “small barren tanks,” which would be cruel due to their intellect and antipathy for crowded conditions, according to the bill’s proponents.

The proposal was spurred by efforts to commercially raise octopuses for food in Hawaii and Spain, as well as by similar bans in Washington and California, supporters said at a recent legislative hearing before the House Agriculture Committee.

“Your decision in Oregon matters far beyond your state or even your country. It can make a global example,” said Lily Niederhofer, an octopus enthusiast who testified in favor of HB 2557.

Apart from animal welfare considerations, the prospect of octopus farming is worrisome from an ecological standpoint, according to the bill’s supporters.

“Because of their exceptional cognitive abilities, octopuses are known for escaping, making them more likely than any other aquacultured species to spread disease, parasites and genetic mutations,” said Amanda Fox, executive director of the Animal Rights Initiative nonprofit.

The waters off the Oregon coast are home to the giant Pacific octopus and the red octopus, which are among 300 global species of the mollusk.

Octopus farming could also have negative impacts on the state’s commercial crab fishery, as the confined creatures would produce waste that feeds toxic algal blooms, Fox said.

Toxins from such algal blooms have already resulted in harvest restrictions for the state’s crab fishermen, she said.

Though the bill received only supportive testimony during the recent hearing, Rep. Anna Scharf, R-Amity, said she was skeptical of the proposal.

Scharf said she’d recently spoken with an octopus producer in Hawaii who’d been driven out of business by animal rights activists and believes the issue requires more research.

A blanket ban on octopus farming could “throw the baby out with the bathwater” at a time that natural populations of the animal have been depleted in some parts of the world, she said.

Scharf also said she’s skeptical of the ulterior motives behind the legislation.

“The vast majority of testimony, at least my office has received, has been from out-of-state organizations and individuals who’d like to put farming and ranching out of business altogether,” she said.