Seafood Import Restrictions
Under statutes such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act the United States can impose import restrictions on seafood products from foreign fisheries that do not meet U.S. standards.
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 November 28, 2022, the United States Court of International Trade (Slip Opinion 22-130) ordered NOAA Fisheries to implement restrictions on certain seafood products harvested in the New Zealand set net and trawl fisheries. The ban is specific to inshore fisheries in the range of the Maui dolphin—a marine mammal species found on the west coast of the North Island. The court order requires NOAA Fisheries to ban importation from New Zealand into the United States of 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.
Information for Importers of Fish Products from New Zealand
NOAA Fisheries has worked with the Government of New Zealand to establish flexible Certification of Admissibility procedures. The New Zealand form (US350) or the US Certification of Admissibility form (OMB#0648-0651) may be used by the New Zealand exporter and US importer to document that the fish products in the import shipment were not derived from the fisheries subject to the trade restriction. US importers are strongly encouraged to work closely with their exporter counterparts in New Zealand to ensure that the documentation accompanying the inbound shipment/consignment certifies that the fish/fish products were not derived from the West Coast North Island inshore set net or trawl fisheries. Admissibility may be established by certifying that the shipment/consignment contains fish of a species not included in the court-ordered ban, contains fish not harvested by set-nets or trawls, or contains fish that were not harvested from the West Coast North Island inshore fishery management area.
For the purposes of enforcing the court-ordered ban, the west coast of North Island inshore set net and trawl fisheries are designated as vessels less than or equal to 46 meters in length overall that are authorized for fishing by the government of New Zealand and that operate in Fishery Management Area 8 and Fishery Management Area 9.
For more information on New Zealand’s delineation of fishery management areas
Additional Resources
- Federal Register Notice of the court-ordered trade restrictions on New Zealand
- Harmonized Tariff Schedule Codes (PDF, 8 pages)
- U.S. Court of International Trade Preliminary Injunction (PDF, 3 pages)
- Certification of Admissibility and Instructions for Certification of Admissibility Form
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.