Farmed salmon and spiny lobster cannot be exported from Ireland to the USA from January 1st next year under new US import restrictions.
The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA), which has issued an information notice on the issue, says the US authorities have informed the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM), and the SFPA of the new restrictions.
It says that salmon “from an aquaculture source” and spiny lobster cannot be exported from Ireland to the USA, due to a determination made by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries).
It says this follows a “comparability finding” conducted by NOAA Fisheries on “legislation of harvesting nations who export fishery products to the USA”.
“In Ireland’s case, the required equivalence has been deemed by NOAA not to be present due to a provision in the Wildlife Act, which does not conform with the relevant US legislation in this area,” it says.
“Exports of these products to the USA will need to cease from January 1st, 2026,” it says.
“In addition, NOAA are implementing a requirement for export consignments of similar products covered by certain Combined Nomenclature codes to be accompanied by documentation essentially attesting that the consignments do not contain salmon of aquaculture origin or common spiny lobster,” the SFPA says.
“This document is called a Certificate of Admissibility (COA). These COAs will be required from 1st of January 2026 and will be provided by the SFPA on request,”it says.
“All trade in all other products not mentioned above or found in the commodity code list can continue after January 1st, 2026 as it currently does now,” it says.
“Exporters are advised to plan for the implementation of these changes as outlined above. Irish exporters will be advised if, and when, any developments to these restrictions arise, the SFPA says.
The SFPA says queries may be emailed to: [email protected]
