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Trade and Industry Department The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Brand Hong Kong - Asia world city
MY COLOUR

Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref. : EIC 111/2

14 September 2021

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 648/2021

US : New Requirement on Imports of Fish and Fish products to the US under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) Effective on 1 January 2023

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) notified its trading partners (including Hong Kong) that it would implement new requirement on imports of fish and fish products to the US under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) effective on 1 January 2023.

DETAILS

2.The US has published regulations implementing the MMPA import provisions. The regulations aim to reduce the bycatch of marine mammals in foreign commercial fishing operations thus reducing incidental or intentional mortality and serious injury of marine mammals by requiring those economies exporting fish and fish products1 to the US to maintain comparable standards to the US commercial fishing operations.

3.Under the MMPA import provisions, the NOAA, according to the likelihood to hurt sea mammals during commercial fishing, classified foreign fisheries as either "Export Fisheries" or "Exempt Fisheries" for each exporting / harvesting economy's different types of fisheries. "Export Fisheries" refer to those with a higher than remote likelihood to hurt sea mammals during commercial fishing, while "Exempt fisheries" refer to those with a remote likelihood to hurt sea mammals during commercial fishing.

4.The US notified its trading partners that it would implement the following new requirements under the MMPA import provisions for imports of fish and fish products to the US effective from 1 January 2023 and failure to comply may result in import prohibitions for fish and fish products:

  • "Export Fisheries": The US requires that a harvesting economy must maintain a regulatory program with respect to that fishery that is comparable in effectiveness to the US regulatory program for reducing incidental marine mammal bycatch.
  • "Exempt Fisheries": The US requires that a harvesting economy to demonstrate that it has either prohibited the intentional mortality or serious injury of marine animals in the course of commercial fishing operations.
  • "Intermediary Fisheries" [i.e. fish and fish products imported by an economy for export / re-export to the US (with or without undergoing processing in that intermediary economy) as well as fish and fish products transhipped through the intermediary economy to US]: With respect to fish and fish products which the US has identified and notified the intermediary economy in writing (if any), the US requires information from the intermediary economy showing that the products re-exported / transhipped to the US do not come from a prohibited fishery by the US. The US aims to announce the list of fish / fish products that will be prohibited for import to the US by 30 November 2022.

5.An overview of the lists of "Export Fisheries", "Exempt Fisheries" and "Intermediary Fisheries" of Hong Kong developed by NOAA (as at 13 September 2021) is extracted at Annexes A to C (pdf format) respectively.

6.For further details, please refer to NOAA's official website and compliance guidance:

  • NOAA's official website on list of foreign fisheries:
    https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/foreign/international-affairs/list-foreign-fisheries
  • Compliance Guide - Marine Mammal Protection Act Import Provisions:
    https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/dam-migration/mmpa_import_rule_compliance_guide.pdf

ENQUIRIES

7.For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact Miss K Y HO at telephone number 2398 5405.

8.For licensed food factories which currently use or intend to use marine fish or fishery products as raw materials for processing in Hong Kong into products for export to the US, licensees may contact the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) Ms Royce CHAN directly at telephone number 2867 5695 or email mcchan@fehd.gov.hk for further enquiry.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Ivy TAM)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

1 "Fish and fish products" under MMPA is defined as any marine finfish, mollusk, crustacean, or other form of marine life other than marine mammals, reptiles, and birds, whether fresh, frozen, canned, pouched, or otherwise prepared.

Note: While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.