Marine Mammal Protection Act Comparability Finding Determinations for Harvesting Nations

Effective January 1, 2026, nations with fisheries denied comparability findings under the Marine Mammal Protection Act Import Provisions regulation are prohibited from importing fish and fish products from those fisheries into the United States. Nations that have been denied comparability findings may reapply at any time. This page provides the current status of the comparability finding determinations for harvesting nations, including those that have changed due to reapplications.

International

2025 Comparability Finding Determinations

On September 2, 2025, NOAA Fisheries announced its 2025 Marine Mammal Protection Act comparability finding determinations. These determinations assessed approximately 2,500 fisheries in 135 nations seeking to export fish and fish products to the United States. Comparability finding determinations are made for each nation on a fishery-by-fishery basis. A total of 240 fisheries from 46 nations were denied comparability findings.

NOAA Fisheries conducted a detailed analysis of each comparability finding application submitted by harvesting nations. Details regarding each nation’s comparability finding determination are categorized in the lists below. Each harvesting nation’s Comparability Finding Application Final Report from 2025, unless otherwise noted, can be accessed by clicking on the nation under Lists 1, 2, and 3 below. Additional documents detailing NOAA Fisheries’ evaluation process, the fisheries denied and granted comparability findings for each nation, and the trade information associated with fishery denials (including Harmonized Tariff Codes) can be found at the bottom of this page.

Seafood import restrictions and how they are implemented

Please note: Comparability finding determinations are valid through December 31, 2029.

For additional questions, please contact MMPA.LOFF@noaa.gov.

Comparability Finding Determination Updates

Swimming Crab Fisheries

On October 31, 2025, the United States Court of International Trade ordered that the January 1, 2026, effective date of the import ban for the swimming crab fisheries in Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam was stayed pending NOAA Fisheries’ reconsideration of the comparability findings determinations for these fisheries that target swimming crabs:

Indonesia Fishery ID 12391
Philippine Fishery IDs 2129 and 2130
Sri Lanka Fishery ID 2705
Vietnam Fishery ID 2988

As required by the court order, NOAA Fisheries received and evaluated additional information about these fisheries. On May 11, 2026, NOAA Fisheries granted comparability findings to the swimming crab fisheries of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. NOAA Fisheries denied comparability findings to the swimming crab fisheries of the Philippines (Fishery IDs 2129 and 2130). For these particular fisheries, separate comparability finding reports are provided for each nation below. As a result of these determinations, crab and crab products associated with Indonesia Fishery ID 12391, Sri Lanka Fishery ID 2705, and Vietnam Fishery IDs* 13164, 13204, 13205, and 13206 may continue to be imported to the United States. Crab and crab products associated with Philippines Fishery IDs 2129 and 2130 may not be imported to the United States effective June 11, 2026, 30 days after the publication of the Federal Register notice.

*Vietnam divided Fishery ID 2988 into four individual red and blue swimming crab fisheries based on gear type.

Reapplications

On March 16, 2026, NOAA Fisheries announced updated determinations for New Caledonia, Grenada, and Ireland, originally assessed in 2025. Final Reports for these nations have been updated.

On June 22, 2026, NOAA Fisheries announced in the Federal Register an updated determination for Suriname, originally assessed in 2025. The Final Report for Suriname has been updated.

List 1: Nations Receiving Comparability Findings for All Export/Exempt Fisheries

List 2: Nations Denied Comparability Findings for Some Fisheries

Bangladesh
Brazil
Cameroon
Chile
China
Colombia
Ecuador
El Salvador
Ghana
Indonesia (September 2025); Fishery ID 12391 only (May 2026)
Kenya
Liberia
Madagascar
Malaysia
Mauritania
Mexico
Mozambique
Myanmar (Burma)
Nigeria
Oman
Peru
Philippines (September 2025); Fishery IDs 2190 and 2130 only (May 2026)
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Somalia
South Korea
Sri Lanka(September 2025); Fishery ID 2705 only (May 2026)
St. Kitts and Nevis
Taiwan
Türkiye
United Arab Emirates
Vietnam (September 2025); Fishery IDs 13164, 13204, 13205, 13206 only (May 2026)

List 3: Nations Denied Comparability Findings for All Fisheries

Benin¹
Guinea
Haiti¹
Iran¹
Namibia
Russia
Saint Lucia
The Gambia
Togo
Venezuela¹

¹Nations that did not submit an application for a comparability finding, and therefore do not have a Comparability Finding Application Report.

²The detailed analysis of NOAA Fisheries' comparability findings for New Zealand’s North Island and South Island multi-species set net and trawl fisheries is contained in a Decision Memorandum dated March 2, 2026. For additional information, see here.

Additional Comparability Determination Documents

Comparability Finding Approvals for Harvesting Nations’ Fisheries (July 2026)
Comparability Finding Denials for Harvesting Nations’ Fisheries (July 2026)
Harmonized Tariff Codes and Other Resources for the Marine Mammal Protection Act Import Prohibitions
MMPA Import Provisions FAQ (December 2025)
Economic Impact Summary Tables (July 2025)
Decision Memorandum for the 2025 Comparability Findings (July 2025)
Decision Memorandum for Swimming Crab Fishery Comparability Findings (May 2026)

Last updated by Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce on 07/16/2026