NOAA Fisheries will impose seafood import bans on 46 countries with fisheries laws that fail to meet U.S. standards for avoiding bycatch of marine mammals.
In a list of affected countries announced Friday, NOAA Fisheries said fishing vessels from roughly half of the world’s seafood-exporting nations are not meeting “compatibility standards” with U.S. law for avoiding the unintentional catch of whales, dolphins and other marine mammals. Those countries “now face stringent import restrictions, ensuring that seafood entering U.S. markets adhere to the same high standards as American-caught seafood,” the agency said in a release.
Beginning in January, 12 nations will be fully barred from importing seafood to U.S. markets: Benin, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Namibia, New Caledonia, Russia, Saint Lucia, Togo and Venezuela. Another 34 nations — including major exporters like Brazil, Chile, China, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines and Vietnam — will see some of their seafood products banned from U.S. markets.
Eugenio Piñeiro Soler, NOAA’s assistant administrator for fisheries, called the action a “major win” for American fishermen, consumers and marine ecosystems. “By enforcing these standards, we’re protecting our domestic seafood industry and ensuring only safe, sustainable seafood reaches American tables,” he said in a press release.
