Establishes certain requirements concerning aquaculture.

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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 2965
Sponsored by Representative GAMBA; Senator PHAM K (Presession filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced. The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: The Act sets requirements for raising fish as food for humans. The Act creates a related
fund. (Flesch Readability Score: 78.7).
Establishes certain requirements concerning aquaculture.
Establishes the Aquatic Animals Fund, separate and distinct from the General Fund. Appropri-
ates moneys in the Aquatic Animals Fund to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife for certain
purposes related to aquaculture and aquatic animals.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to aquaculture.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
DEFINITIONS
SECTION 1.
Sections 2 to 8 of this 2025 Act are added to and made a part of ORS chapter
498.
SECTION 2. As used in sections 2 to 8 of this 2025 Act:
(1) “Aquaculture”:
(a) Means the farming of aquatic animals or aquatic plants for the primary purpose of
producing food for humans.
(b) Does not mean the activities of a hatchery that is owned or operated by this state.
(2) “Aquaculture facility”:
(a) Means a facility that engages in aquaculture by propagating, rearing, holding, har-
vesting, transporting, receiving the transport of or slaughtering aquatic animals, either on
land or in a natural or artificial body of water, for the primary purpose of producing food for
humans.
(b) Does not mean a hatchery that is owned or operated by this state.
(3) “Aquatic animal”:
(a) Means:
(A) Finfish belonging to the classes Agnatha (jawless fishes), Chondrichthyes
(cartilaginous fishes) and Osteichthyes (bony fishes);
(B) Cephalopods; and
(C) Any other game fish or food fish that is used as food for humans or for industrial
purposes, if the State Fish and Wildlife Commission designates the game fish or food fish as
an aquatic animal under this section.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a)(C) of this subsection, does not mean:
NOTE: Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [ italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 766
HB 2965
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(A) A sea urchin that belongs to the species Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.
(B) Clams.
(C) Mussels.
(D) Oysters.
(E) Scallops.
(4) “Food fish” has the meaning given that term in ORS 506.011.
(5) “Game fish” has the meaning given that term in ORS 496.009.
(6) “Genetically engineered”:
(a) Means produced through the modification, cloning or manipulation of genes using
biotechnology, including gene editing techniques.
(b) Does not mean selective breeding.
FINDINGS ON AQUACULTURE
SECTION 3.
The Legislative Assembly finds that:
(1) Aquaculture may be a growing industry.
(2) The state has a duty to protect the natural resources and ecosystems of this state.
(3) Industrial aquaculture presents risks to the environment, among other risks, and the
risks may be mitigated through appropriate regulation.
(4) Expert input is required in order to fully understand the risks associated with
aquaculture and establish appropriate regulation.
(5) To adequately protect this state’s natural resources, aquaculture operations must
adhere to certain minimum standards related to preventing pollution and protecting water
quality.
FINFISH AND CEPHALOPOD AQUACULTURE
SECTION 4.
(1) An agency of this state may not issue a license or permit to an
aquaculture facility that is in violation of this section or section 5 of this 2025 Act.
(2) The provisions of ORS 468B.025 and 468B.050 apply to an aquaculture facility licensed
under this section.
SECTION 5. (1) To protect public health and promote environmental protection, an
aquaculture facility:
(a) Must address water quality at the aquaculture facility, including by:
(A) Providing aeration and oxygen.
(B) Removing or filtering water so water parameters remain within limits for optimal
welfare conditions and for specific species of aquatic animals based on the best available
scientific evidence.
(C) Remediating the effects of feed in the water.
(b) May not:
(A) Stock aquatic animals at levels that exceed the optimal density for specific species
of aquatic animals, based on the best available scientific evidence to allow ample space in
which aquatic animals can engage in or express natural behaviors.
(B) Raise finfish in marine or estuarine waters in nets, cages or other vessels.
(C) Discharge water or waste into marine waters or estuaries.
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(D) Release an aquatic animal from the aquaculture facility into the waters of this state.
(E) Use, grow or harvest genetically engineered aquatic animals.
(c) Must provide aquatic animals with an appropriate environment that includes a total
swimmable volume of water acceptable for specific species of aquatic animals based on the
best available scientific evidence.
(d) Notwithstanding ORS 498.012 and 610.105, may not take lethal action against a pred-
ator to further the operation of the aquaculture facility.
(2) Subsection (1)(b)(A) of this section does not apply to a business entity that:
(a) Is owned and operated independently from all other businesses; and
(b) Has annual gross revenues of less than $500,000, as reported on the most recent tax
return submitted to the federal Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Revenue.
SECTION 6.
(1) An aquaculture facility shall keep detailed records of:
(a) Medications or vaccinations administered to aquatic animals.
(b) Any outbreaks of infectious disease.
(c) Water quality tests.
(d) Any violations of sections 2 to 8 of this 2025 Act.
(2) The aquaculture facility shall:
(a) Immediately report any outbreak of infectious disease to the Department of Envi-
ronmental Quality and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife;
(b) Annually submit the records required under subsection (1) of this section to the State
Department of Fish and Wildlife; and
(c) Make the records publicly available.
(3) The department shall post the records required under subsection (1) of this section
on a department website.
(4) In consultation with scientific experts, representatives of the aquaculture industry
and advocates of the environment and animal welfare, the department shall adopt rules to
implement this section.
SECTION 7.
(1) The Aquatic Animals Fund is established in the State Treasury, separate
and distinct from the General Fund. All moneys in the Aquatic Animals Fund are contin-
uously appropriated to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife for:
(a) Carrying out the provisions of sections 2 to 8 of this 2025 Act;
(b) Actions and activities benefiting aquatic animals, including conducting education re-
garding the humane treatment of aquatic animals; and
(c) Making grants available to aquaculture facilities seeking to transition to more hu-
mane methods of operation, or to aquaculture related to aquatic plants instead of aquatic
animals.
(2) The fund shall consist of any moneys:
(a) Transferred to the fund by the Legislative Assembly or from any other source; and
(b) Received under ORS 616.997 (7).
(3) Interest earnings on moneys in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
ENFORCEMENT
SECTION 8.
(1) The Attorney General, a state agency, a county attorney, a district at-
torney, a city attorney or a person residing or doing business in the county where an
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aquaculture facility is located may apply to the circuit court for the county in which the
aquaculture facility is located for a temporary or permanent injunction requiring the
aquaculture facility to:
(a) Refrain from any activity or inactivity constituting a violation of sections 2 to 8 of
this 2025 Act or another applicable law; and
(b) Take any actions necessary to remedy the violation.
(2) The circuit court may award reasonable attorney fees to a plaintiff prevailing under
this section.
SECTION 9.
On or before January 1, 2027, the State Department of Fish and Wildlife shall
adopt rules as needed to implement sections 2 to 8 of this 2025 Act.
CAPTIONS
SECTION 10. The unit captions used in this 2025 Act are provided for the convenience
of the reader and do not become part of the statutory law of this state or express any leg-
islative intent in the enactment of this 2025 Act.
OPERATIVE DATE
SECTION 11. (1) Sections 2 to 8 of this 2025 Act become operative on January 1, 2027.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, the Department of Environmental
Quality and the State Department of Fish and Wildlife may take any actions, on or after the
effective date of this 2025 Act, that are necessary to prepare for the implementation of
sections 2 to 8 of this 2025 Act.
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