Marine Mammal Protection Act Comparability Finding Determinations for Harvesting Nations

Last updated July 2026

Effective January 1, 2026, nations with fisheries denied comparability findings under the Marine Mammal Protection Act Import Provision regulations 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.

For questions regarding comparability findings, please contact MMPA.LOFF@noaa.gov.

Comparability Finding Determinations

On September 2, 2025, NOAA Fisheries announced its 2025 Marine Mammal Protection Act comparability finding determinations in the Federal Register. 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 continues to update these determinations as nations submit reapplications. 

NOAA Fisheries conducts a detailed analysis of each comparability finding application submitted by harvesting nations. Full reports on each nation’s comparability finding determinations are provided in the lists below. The 2025 Comparability Finding Application Final Report for each harvesting nation, including subsequent updates to its determination, can be accessed by clicking on the nation in Lists 1, 2, or 3 below. Additional documents on NOAA Fisheries’ evaluation process can be found at the bottom of this page.

The following tables provide details for each fishery that has a comparability finding and those denied a comparability finding.

• Harvesting Nations' Fisheries with Comparability Findings (PDF Download, last revised July 2026)
• Harvesting Nations' Fisheries Denied Comparability Findings  (PDF Download, last revised July 2026)

Note: Comparability finding determinations are generally valid through December 31, 2029.

Certifications of Admissibility

Products not subject to an import prohibition but that share similar trade data with a prohibited product from a fishery denied a comparability finding are subject to Certification of Admissibility (COA) requirements to enter the United States. NOAA Fisheries requires a COA to attest that the products are not subject to MMPA import prohibitions. 

More information on seafood import prohibitions and certifications of admissibility under this program is available here.

Comparability Finding Determination Updates 

Swimming Crab Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries reconsidered the comparability finding determinations for the following fisheries, pursuant to an October 31, 2025 order of the United States Court of International Trade: 

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). See Federal Register notice. 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 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 in the Federal Register 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

1. Albania
2. Antigua and Barbuda
3. Argentina
4. Australia
5. The Bahamas
6. Bahrain
7. Barbados
8. Belgium
9. Belize
10. Bermuda
11. Brunei
12. Bulgaria
13. Cambodia
14. Canada
15. Cape Verde
16. Cook Islands
17. Costa Rica
18. Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
19. Croatia
20. Cyprus
21. Denmark
22. Dominican Republic
23. Egypt
24. Estonia
25. Falkland Islands
26. Faroe Islands
27. Federated States of Micronesia
28. Fiji
29. Finland
30. France
31. France – St. Pierre Miquelon
32. French Polynesia
33. French Southern & Antarctic Lands
34. Georgia
35. Germany
36. Grenada (Updated March 2026)
37. Greece
38. Greenland
39. Guatemala
40. Guyana
41. Honduras
42. Hong Kong
43. Iceland
44. India
45. Ireland (Updated March 2026)
46. Israel
47. Italy
48. Jamaica
49. Japan
50. Kiribati
51. Latvia
52. Lithuania
53. Maldives
54. Malta
55. Marshall Islands
56. Mauritius
57. Morocco
58. Nauru
59. The Netherlands
60. New Caledonia (Updated March 2026)
61. New Zealand²
62. Nicaragua
63. Norway
64. Pakistan
65. Palau
66. Panama
67. Papua New Guinea
68. Poland
69. Portugal
70. Saint Helena/Tristan da Cunha (UK)
71. Samoa
72. Seychelles
73. Sierra Leone
74. Singapore
75. Slovenia
76. Solomon Islands
77. South Africa
78. Spain
79. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
80. Suriname (Updated June 2026)
81. Sweden
82. Tanzania
83. Thailand
84. Tonga
85. Trinidad and Tobago
86. Tunisia
87. Turks and Caicos
88. Tuvalu
89. Ukraine
90. United Kingdom
91. Uruguay
92. Vanuatu
93. Yemen

List 2: Nations denied comparability findings for some fisheries

1. Bangladesh
2. Brazil
3. Cameroon
4. Chile
5. China
6. Colombia
7. Ecuador
8. El Salvador
9. Ghana
10. Indonesia (September 2025); Fishery ID 12391 only (May 2026)
11. Kenya
12. Liberia
13. Madagascar
14. Malaysia
15. Mauritania
16. Mexico
17. Mozambique
18. Myanmar (Burma)
19. Nigeria
20. Oman
21. Peru
22. Philippines (September 2025); Fishery IDs 2190 and 2130 only (May 2026)
23. Saudi Arabia
24. Senegal
25. Somalia
26. South Korea
27. Sri Lanka (September 2025); Fishery ID 2705 only (May 2026)
28. St. Kitts and Nevis
29. Taiwan
30. Türkiye
31. United Arab Emirates
32. Vietnam (September 2025); Fishery IDs 13164, 13204, 13205, 13206 only (May 2026)

List 3: Nations denied comparability findings for all fisheries

1. Benin¹
2. Guinea
3. Haiti¹
4. Iran¹
5. Namibia
6. Russia
7. Saint Lucia
8. The Gambia
9. Togo
10. Venezuela¹

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

² The 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:

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)