The Import Ban
Suriname regains U.S. seafood access under marine mammal rules
NOAA says the country now meets the Marine Mammal Protection Act standard for its drift gillnet fishery. The finding removes the import ban for covered fish and fish products through Dec. 31, 2029.
NOAA has restored U.S. market access for covered seafood from Suriname after finding the country meets federal marine mammal protections. The comparability finding runs through Dec. 31, 2029, unless the agency changes it.
- NOAA says Suriname meets the federal marine mammal import standard.
- The finding covers June 22, 2026 through Dec. 31, 2029.
- Covered fish and fish products can keep entering the U.S. market.
- The law looks for comparable results, not identical regulations.
- For Suriname’s seafood exporters, the immediate effect is market access
For Suriname’s seafood exporters, the immediate effect is U.S. market access. NOAA said the country now meets federal rules aimed at protecting marine mammals, clearing covered fish and fish products for import through Dec. 31, 2029.
The finding is valid from June 22, 2026 through Dec. 31, 2029, unless the agency sets a different period.
Comparable, not identical
The Marine Mammal Protection Act blocks imports of fish and fish products from foreign commercial fisheries that cause marine mammal injury or death above U.S. standards. To clear the import bar, an exporting country has to maintain a regulatory program that includes, or effectively achieves, comparable results on incidental mortality and serious injury.
That does not mean the foreign rules have to match U.S. law word for word. The question is whether the system gets to the same outcome, which is the difference between a shipment being eligible for the U.S. market and being shut out.
A lane for buyers and sellers
For Suriname’s fishery operators, the finding keeps a line into a large market open. For U.S. importers and seafood buyers, it preserves a source of covered fish and fish products that can stay on the shelf and in supply chains, so long as the federal safeguard stays in place.
The notice gives that access a hard stop only if NOAA changes the finding later. Until then, the country remains eligible to export covered seafood into the United States under the comparability determination.