Seafood Import Restrictions

Under several statutes, the United States may impose import restrictions on seafood products from foreign fisheries that do not meet U.S. standards for legal harvest or mitigating bycatch of protected resources (e.g., marine mammals and sea turtles). Among these statutes are the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act.  

When import restrictions are applied under these authorities, NOAA Fisheries, in cooperation with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, works to inform seafood exporters and importers of these restrictions, and to provide compliance support for the trade community.

New Zealand

On January 24, 2024, NMFS published notice of its issuance of comparability findings for the Government of New Zealand’s West Coast North Island multi-species set-net fishery and the West Coast North Island multi-species trawl fishery (89 FR 4595). 

On April 1, 2024, the United States Court of International Trade (Slip Opinion 24-37) dissolved the preliminary injunction that led to the importation ban on certain seafood products harvested in the New Zealand set net and trawl fisheries. The ban has been lifted for all snapper, tarakihi, spotted dogfish, trevally, warehou, hoki, barracouta, mullet, and gurnard fish and fish products derived from set-net and trawl fisheries operating off the West Coast of North Island that operate in the range of the Maui dolphin.  Certification of Admissibility requirements are no longer applicable to fish products from the Government of New Zealand under the Marine Mammal Import Provisions as of April 2, 2024. 

Mexico

Under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOAA Fisheries has revoked comparability findings—the finding by NOAA that the harvesting nation for an export or exempt fishery has met the applicable conditions specified in U.S. regulations—for several Mexican fisheries within the range of the vaquita in the Upper Gulf of California. The vaquita is a species of porpoise found in the northern part of the Gulf of California that is on the brink of extinction. 

The affected Upper Gulf of California fisheries are:

• Shrimp trawl fishery, for both small and large vessels
• Shrimp suripera fishery
• Sierra purse seine fishery
• Sierra hook and line fishery
• Chano trawl fishery, for small vessels
• Curvina purse seine fishery
• Sardine/curvina purse seine fishery, for both small and large vessels
• Anchovy
• Herring
• Mackerel
• Croaker
• Pilchard

The decision is based on the Government of Mexico’s failure to demonstrate that it has implemented and enforced a regulatory program, comparable in effectiveness to that of the United States, to govern vaquita-safe commercial fisheries operating in the Upper Gulf of California.

Information for Importers of Fish Products from Mexico

Shrimp, curvina, sierra, chano, anchovy, herrings, sardines, mackerels, croaker, and pilchard fish and fish products imported under certain harmonized tariff schedule codes from Mexico as the country of origin, must be accompanied on arrival to the United States by a Certification of Admissibility form to document that they did not originate from Upper Gulf of California gillnet fisheries, or from the other fisheries in the Upper Gulf for which the comparability findings were revoked. The form requires the signature of an authorized Mexican government official.

The United States will continue to work with Mexico to improve their regulatory program with the goal of eliminating gillnets, and other harmful gear, from the Upper Gulf of California, strengthening regional enforcement, and accelerating the development of vaquita-safe fishing.

Certificate of Admissibility and Additional Resources

• HTS Codes Prohibited Entry into the United States from Mexico Unless Accompanied by a U.S. Importer of Record Certification
• Certification of Admissibility and Instructions for Certification of Admissibility Form 
• Officials Designated by the Government of Mexico to Validate the U.S. Certification of Admissibility
• Federal Register Notice: NOAA Fisheries Revokes Comparability Findings -- Expands Import Restrictions
• Federal Register Notice: Court Ordered Implementation of Import Restrictions; Certification of Admissibility for Certain Fish Products from Mexico 

Contact Information

Contact information for questions should be sent to trademonitoring.support@noaa.gov.

More Information

• Marine Mammal Import Provisions Rule 
• US Customs and Border Protection
• Nations Identifications under the Moratorium Protection Act