The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced the results of its Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) comparability finding determinations, covering 135 countries. NMFS has found the following:
- 89 countries have fishing protections comparable in effectiveness to U.S. standards under the MMPA and will not face any import restrictions.
- 34 countries received denied comparability findings for some of their fisheries.
- 12 countries received denied comparability findings for all fisheries or did not submit a comparability report.
Importer requirements effective January 1, 2026
- Importers sourcing from the 34 countries that received denied comparability findings for some of their fisheries will be required to submit a Certificate of Admissibility (COA) with their entry documents.
- Importers will be required to complete the U.S. Importer Certification section of the COA within 24 hours of CBP release from the port.
- Imports from a prohibited fishery or from any fishery from the 12 countries that received denied comparability findings, will be banned beginning January 1, 2026.
- To review the list of affected countries, please click here.
- The list of prohibited fisheries, impacted species, and HTS codes, may be found here.
If you have questions regarding NMFS COA requirements, please contact your Livingston trade management executive.