South Korea's Maeil Business News reports that some of the country's seafood exports will be prohibited from entering the United States beginning in 2026.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF), 14 seafood products including squid, flounder and anchovies may no longer be exported to the US starting January 1 next year, as announced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) late last month.
The restrictions will be implemented in line with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which prohibits US importation of seafood caught through methods that may also result in marine mammal bycatch.
An MOF official said that the ban will apply to around five per cent of South Korea's seafood exports to the US, while trade of other products such as oysters and seaweed will not be impacted.
Some of Vietnam's seafood exports to the US are also subject to the prohibitions imposed under the MMPA. This has prompted Vietnam's Minister of Industry and Trade to ask that the NOAA reconsider its inclusion of the country's seafood products in the ban.