According to U.S. regulations, foreign fisheries must meet marine mammal protection standards equivalent to those of similar fisheries in the U.S. in order to be allowed to export to the U.S. market.

On May 11th (US time), the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced that it had granted equivalence to crab fishing practices in Viet Nam, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka under Washington's Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), thereby allowing continued imports of products from these countries into the US.

In August 2025, the NMFS first published its equivalence findings based on the MMPA, stating that 240 fisheries from various countries would no longer be permitted to export to the U.S. after reviewing 2,500 fisheries from 135 countries.

With this conclusion, from January 1, 2026, 12 groups of aquatic species from Viet Nam, such as tuna (bigeye, yellowfin, striped, bluefin), swordfish, grouper, mackerel, mullet, crab, squid, etc., harvested (caught) from 12 fishing methods (mainly gillnets, trawls, purse seines, etc.), will be banned from export to this country because they have not been recognized as equivalent to the MMPA.

According to the MMPA, foreign fisheries must meet marine mammal protection standards equivalent to those of similar fisheries in the United States in order to be allowed to export to this market.

Viet Nam is currently one of 34 countries recognized as partially equivalent out of a total of 135 countries exporting seafood to the US. This means that approximately 50% of fisheries are assessed as equivalent and can be exported normally, while the remaining 50% (about 12 groups of fisheries/fishery species) need to meet stricter conditions.

Responding to the press in January 2026, Mr. Le Tran Nguyen Hung, Deputy Director of the Fisheries and Fisheries Inspection Department ( Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ), said that the department had implemented the work of providing documents and building data to provide to the US by deadline, in order to promote the recognition of equivalence for crabs from Viet Nam, as 80% of Vietnamese crabs are exported to the US.

According to US figures, Viet Nam will export 4,143 tons of crab to the US in 2025.

In the case of the Philippines, US crab exports to the country will be banned 30 days after the announcement, which is around mid-June.

This ban will block over 2,000 tons of blue crab imported from the Philippines. The National Maritime Safety Authority (NMFS) has issued a separate report on Philippine fisheries, including the catching of blue crabs using traps/cages and gillnets.

According to this report, the Philippines does not yet have regulations requiring the reporting of deaths or injuries to marine mammals during fishing operations.

Source: Vietnam.vn