Fish Imports from Suriname
The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced that imports of fish and fish products from Suriname may resume effective June 22.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act’s import provisions prohibit the import of fish or fish products from commercial fishing operations that result in the incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals (bycatch) in excess of U.S. standards. Fish and fish products from fisheries identified by the DOC in its list of foreign fisheries can only be imported into the U.S. if the harvesting nation has applied for and received a comparability finding.
In September 2025 the DOC announced that, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, it would prohibit imports of fish and fish products from 240 fisheries from 46 nations that had been denied comparability findings.
The DOC states that Suriname was denied a comparability finding for one of its fisheries at that time but has now addressed the issues underlying that denial. As a result, the DOC has removed the corresponding import prohibition for Suriname’s drift gillnet fishery (ID 2899).
Shellfish
The Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a final rule amending the definition of “shellfish” in the Code of Federal Regulations by removing the phrase “having a shell” and adding specific taxa.
The FWS states that this change will clarify that squid, cuttlefish, octopus, and other cephalopods are included within the regulatory definition of shellfish and are therefore exempt from certain import, export, declaration, inspection, and enforcement requirements under 50 CFR parts 10, 14, and related provisions.
This rule will apply to shipments being imported into or exported out of the U.S. on or after July 23 and will not apply retroactively to shipments imported or exported prior to that date.
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