In a biennial report to Congress, NOAA identifies nations or entities whose fishing vessels have engaged in IUU fishing activities, and nations and entities having fishing activities and practices that result in bycatch of protected living marine resources, or shark catch, where such nations have not adopted regulatory measures comparable to the United States. Once a nation or entity is identified, NOAA Fisheries enters into a two-year consultation period to press for necessary measures to address the identified issue. A positive certification is issued if the nation has provided evidence of actions that address the activities for which it was identified. A negative certification may result in denial of U.S. port access for fishing vessels of that nation and potential import restrictions on fish or fish products.
The United States is committed to working with the governments of negatively certified nations to support their actions to address the issues for which they were identified and is ready to re-establish U.S. port privileges for affected vessels once actions are taken.
Effective February 7, 2022
IUU Fishing
Mexico
As a result of negative certification for IUU fishing, all Mexican fishing vessels that fish in the Gulf of Mexico are prohibited from entering U.S. ports and are denied access to port services.
NOAA Fisheries negatively certified Mexico for IUU fishing in both 2021 and 2023 for its continued failure to combat unauthorized fishing activities by small hulled vessels (called lanchas) in U.S. waters, for which it was first identified in 2019.
Effective October 10, 2024
IUU fishing
The People’s Republic of China
As a result of its negative certification for IUU fishing, all PRC-flagged longline fishing vessels authorized under the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) are prohibited from entering U.S. ports, and will be denied access to port services.
NOAA Fisheries negatively certified the PRC for IUU fishing in 2023 for having vessels that violated shark-related and transshipment-related conservation and management measures in WCPFC, IATTC, and ICCAT, and for failing to take appropriate actions to address the alleged violations which resulted in its identification in 2021.
The Russian Federation
As a result of negative certification for IUU fishing, all Russia-flagged fishing vessels authorized under the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to target toothfish are prohibited from entering U.S. ports, and will be denied access to port services.
NOAA Fisheries negatively certified the Russian Federation for IUU fishing in 2023 for having a vessel engaged in fishing activities that violated CCAMLR conservation measures.
Bycatch of protected living marine resources
The following nations have been denied port access for engaging in pelagic longline fisheries in the ICCAT Convention Area, in waters beyond any national jurisdiction, without implementing bycatch mitigation measures for sea turtles comparable in effectiveness to U.S. regulations:
- Algeria
- Barbados
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Cyprus
- France
- Greece
- Italy
- Malta
- Namibia
- Senegal
- Spain
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Türkiye
As a result of negative certification for bycatch, all longline fishing vessels operating in waters beyond any national jurisdiction in ICCAT fisheries and flagged to any of these nations are prohibited from entering U.S. ports, and will be denied access to port services.
Mexico
As a result of negative certification for bycatch, all Mexican vessels operating in gillnet fisheries in the Gulf of Ulloa are prohibited from entering U.S. ports, and will be denied access to port services.
NOAA Fisheries negatively certified Mexico in 2023 for its lack of a regulatory program comparable in effectiveness to that of the United States to reduce or minimize bycatch of North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles, an endangered species and a protected living marine resource shared with the United States, in the gillnet fishery in the Gulf of Ulloa.
