The countries received negative certifications in August 2023 as outlined in NOAA’s 2023 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management. These nations were negatively certified by the United States due to either illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity; failure to effectively reduce the bycatch (unintended catch) of protected marine wildlife; or shark catch in international waters where such nations have not adopted regulatory measures comparable to the United States.
According to NOAA, the vessels that are denied port access include:
- People’s Republic of China-flagged longline fishing vessels authorized under several regional fisheries management organizations
- Russian-flagged fishing vessels authorized under the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources to target toothfish.
- Mexican-flagged vessels operating in gillnet fisheries in the Gulf of Ulloa (existing port denials for Mexican fishing vessels fishing in the Gulf of Mexico remain in place)
- Longline fishing vessels operating in International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas fisheries beyond national jurisdictions and flagged to Algeria, Barbados, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Namibia, Senegal, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, and Türkiye
NOAA’s action is a result of a multi-step process under the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act that allows NOAA to address IUU fishing, bycatch of protected marine life, and shark catch in fisheries around the world. NOAA first identifies countries in the Biennial Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management that fail to tackle these issues. Once identified, NOAA collaborates with those nations to address the reasons for the identification. If a nation takes appropriate corrective actions, it can receive a positive certification in the next report. If not, it receives a negative certification that can trigger a denial of U.S. port privileges, among other consequences, including seafood import restrictions.
Oceana is campaigning to stop illegal fishing, increase transparency at sea, and require traceability of all seafood.