Modification of Deadlines Under the Fish and Fish Product Import Provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

The Department of Commerce and NMFS have issued a Federal Register notice extending the exemption period by two years, to December 31, 2025, for foreign nations to receive a Comparability Finding for their commercial fishing operations to export fish and fish products to the United States - a revision to the regulations implementing the import provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).

After careful deliberation, the Department of Commerce and NMFS have determined that additional time is necessary to complete the evaluation process, given the large number of foreign fisheries, the evolving nature of fisheries data, and the practical challenges of assessing the comparability of the regulatory programs in foreign countries.