Irish salmon farmers and spiny lobster harvesters are expressing their concern about a proposed ban on exports to the U.S. due to NOAA’s recently updated Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) ruling.
NOAA recently determined 240 foreign fisheries do not comply with U.S. marine mammal regulations under the MMPA, finding they did not have sufficient protections in place for marine mammals.
Under the ruling, Irish farmed salmon and wild-caught spiny lobster would be banned from the U.S. market starting 1 January 2026.
Industry representatives have said that the ban of these Irish exports is due to the failure of Irish authorities to provide NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) with adequate information about the extent of Irish seal protections.
“It is extremely regrettable that when our own administration were dealing with the appropriate authorities in the United States that proper care and due diligence was not undertaken when information was provided,” Irish Fish Processors and Exporters Association CEO Brendan Byrne told SeafoodSource.
In Ireland, a little-used law allows fishers and aquaculture producers to secure licenses to kill seals that damage their operations.
In the decision made to ban the Irish products, NOAA said that “Ireland did not provide NMFS sufficient documentary evidence regarding the prohibition on intentional killing of seals associated with its aquaculture fishery (ID 1388) or tangle net fishery (ID 1386) and the circumstances surrounding future permitting exceptions for intentional lethal removal of nuisance seals associated with these fisheries.”
“Ireland prohibits the intentional killing of cetaceans but permits the intentional killing of seals," the decision said. "Ireland noted that there are no currently active licenses for lethal deterrence of seals that damage aquaculture installations, but the licensing provisions allow for continued or future permitting of such activities. Ireland did not provide information on conditions surrounding future permitting of lethal deterrence to be able to attest that no seafood product exported to the United States was caught in fisheries with intentional killing of marine mammals.”
Byrne said the decision made sense given the information with which the U.S. agencies had to work.
“Internally, we need to deal with [representatives of the Irish fisheries] that failed to reflect the true extent of protections within our country for seals and other wildlife,” Byrne said.
He added that Ireland “prides itself on the different laws and absolute protections it gives to our various seal populations.”
“Ireland is a country that is at the fore in protecting its environment, all our wildlife and our much varied natural habitats. Unfortunately, that story has not been shared so that the true and accurate success story of Ireland and its respect for wildlife could be known throughout the world,” he said.
