Vietnam races to draft action plan as USD 200 million in seafood faces US ban under MMPA

Vietnam is moving quickly to prepare a national response plan after the United States announced that from Jan. 1, 2026, seafood from 12 of its fisheries will be barred from entering the US market under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), putting an estimated USD 200 million in exports at risk.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment Phung Duc Tien chaired a meeting on Tuesday with fisheries and regulatory agencies to discuss compliance with the US law, which requires foreign fisheries to meet standards equivalent to those applied domestically to protect marine mammals.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last month notified Hanoi that Vietnam had received only partial recognition in the latest equivalency assessment, joining 33 other countries in the same category. While some fisheries were accepted, 12 were rejected due to high-risk gear interactions with marine mammals, weak monitoring and reporting mechanisms, and ineffective mitigation measures.

Seafood affected includes tuna, mackerel, squid, octopus and certain crustaceans, all key export earners for Vietnam. In 2024, Vietnam shipped USD 1.8 billion worth of seafood to the US, including nearly USD 385 million of tuna and USD 765 million of marine fish. Officials warn that the upcoming ban will hit not only export revenues but also fisher incomes, seafood processors and Vietnam’s reputation in global markets.

“To meet US requirements, Vietnam must undertake technical reforms fishery by fishery, gear by gear, and management method by management method,” said To Viet Chau, deputy director general of the Department of International Cooperation. He urged the fisheries authority to draft a comprehensive response plan and called for exporters to be alerted immediately to adjust business strategies ahead of the 2026 deadline.

Other officials stressed that Vietnam is not alone in facing partial recognition, with China, South Korea, the Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia in the same group, while Thailand, India and Cambodia have secured full equivalency. “The most urgent tasks are revising legal frameworks and setting up an effective fishery monitoring program. These are technically demanding and time-consuming, but decisive for future recognition,” said Le Ba Anh, deputy head of the Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Minister Tien underscored the strategic stakes: “This is not only a technical challenge but also a matter of trade and national credibility. If we do not prepare seriously, Vietnam’s seafood sector will lose a key market and long-term growth opportunities.” He instructed agencies to finalize action plans, allocate funding, and intensify legal, technical and diplomatic engagement, emphasizing that “we cannot wait until the ban takes effect to respond.”

Source:  https://vietfishmagazine.com/