Notice2026-07676
Annual Determination and Certification of Shrimp-Harvesting Nations
Primary source
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Published
April 21, 2026
Effective
April 21, 2026
Issuing agencies
State Department
Abstract
On April 10, 2026, the Department of State certified to Congress that wild-caught shrimp and products from that shrimp harvested in the following nations and Hong Kong are eligible to enter the United States: Argentina, the Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Gabon, Germany, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Russia, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. The Department of State determined that wild-caught shrimp harvested in particular fisheries of certain nations and products from that shrimp are eligible to enter the United States: Australia (Northern Prawn Fishery, the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery, the Spencer Gulf, and the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery), France (French Guiana), Italy (giant red shrimp), Japan (shrimp baskets in Hokkaido), Republic of Korea (mosquito nets), and Spain (Mediterranean red shrimp). For nations, economies, and fisheries not listed above, only shrimp harvested from aquaculture and products from that shrimp are eligible to enter the United States. Shrimp and products from shrimp (products containing shrimp) imports into the United States must be accompanied by the DS- 2031 Shrimp Exporter's/Importer's Declaration.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 76 (Tuesday, April 21, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 76 (Tuesday, April 21, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21364-21366]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-07676]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 13001]
Annual Determination and Certification of Shrimp-Harvesting
Nations
AGENCY: Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific
Affairs, State Department.
ACTION: Notice of annual determination and certification.
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SUMMARY: On April 10, 2026, the Department of State certified to
[[Page 21365]]
Congress that wild-caught shrimp and products from that shrimp
harvested in the following nations and Hong Kong are eligible to enter
the United States: Argentina, the Bahamas, Belgium, Belize, Canada,
Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Gabon, Germany,
Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama,
Russia, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
The Department of State determined that wild-caught shrimp harvested in
particular fisheries of certain nations and products from that shrimp
are eligible to enter the United States: Australia (Northern Prawn
Fishery, the Queensland East Coast Trawl Fishery, the Spencer Gulf, and
the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery), France (French Guiana), Italy (giant
red shrimp), Japan (shrimp baskets in Hokkaido), Republic of Korea
(mosquito nets), and Spain (Mediterranean red shrimp). For nations,
economies, and fisheries not listed above, only shrimp harvested from
aquaculture and products from that shrimp are eligible to enter the
United States. Shrimp and products from shrimp (products containing
shrimp) imports into the United States must be accompanied by the DS-
2031 Shrimp Exporter's/Importer's Declaration.
DATES: This determination and certification notice is effective on
April 21, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jared Milton, Section 609 Program
Manager, Office of Marine Conservation, Bureau of Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Department of
State, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520-2758; telephone: (202)
647-3263; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1d594e2f2d2e2c5d6e697c6978337a726b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="743027464447453407001500115a131b02">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 609 of Public Law 101-162 (``Sec.
609'') prohibits imports of wild-caught shrimp or products from shrimp
harvested with commercial fishing technology unless the President
certifies to the Congress by May 1, 1991, and annually thereafter, that
either: (1) the harvesting nation has adopted a regulatory program
governing the incidental taking of relevant species of sea turtles in
the course of commercial shrimp harvesting that is comparable to that
of the United States and that the average rate of that incidental
taking by the vessels of the harvesting nation is comparable to the
average rate of incidental taking of sea turtles by United States
vessels in the course of such harvesting; or (2) the particular fishing
environment of the harvesting nation does not pose a threat of the
incidental taking of sea turtles in the course of shrimp harvesting.
The President has delegated the authority to make this certification to
the Secretary of State (``Secretary'') who further delegated the
authority within the Department of State (``Department''). The Revised
Guidelines for the Implementation of Sec. 609 were published in the
Federal Register on July 8, 1999, at 64 FR 36946.
On April 10, 2026, the Department certified to Congress the
following nations pursuant to section 609(b)(2)(A) and (B) on the basis
that they have adopted a regulatory program governing the incidental
taking of relevant species of sea turtles in the course of commercial
shrimp harvesting that is comparable to that of the United States and
that the average rate of that incidental taking by the vessels of the
harvesting nation is comparable to the average rate of incidental
taking of such sea turtles by United States vessels in the course of
such harvesting: Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Guatemala,
Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, and Suriname. The
Department also certified pursuant to section 609(b)(2)(C) several
shrimp-harvesting nations and one economy as having fishing
environments that do not pose a threat to sea turtles, including the
following nations with shrimping grounds only in cold waters where the
risk of taking sea turtles is negligible: Argentina, Belgium, Canada,
Chile, the Kingdom of Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom,
and Uruguay. Additionally, the Department certified pursuant to section
609(b)(2)(C) that the following nations and Hong Kong only harvest
shrimp using small boats with crews of less than five that only use
manual rather than mechanical means to retrieve nets or catch shrimp
using other methods that do not pose a threat of incidental taking of
sea turtles: the Bahamas, Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic,
Fiji, Jamaica, Oman, and Sri Lanka.
The Department has certified the above listed nations and Hong Kong
pursuant to Sec. 609, and shrimp and products from shrimp are eligible
for importation into the United States utilizing the Shrimp Exporter's/
Importer's Declaration (``DS-2031'') Box 7(B) provision for shrimp
``harvested in the waters of a nation currently certified pursuant to
Section 609 of Public Law 101-162.''
Shrimp harvested with turtle excluder devices (``TEDs'') and
products from that shrimp in an uncertified nation may, under specific
circumstances, be eligible for importation into the United States under
the DS-2031 Box 7(A)(2) provision for shrimp ``harvested using TEDs
comparable in effectiveness to those in the United States, as
determined by the U.S. Department of State.'' Use of this provision
requires that the Secretary or his or her delegate determine in advance
that the government of the harvesting nation has put in place adequate
procedures to monitor the use of TEDs in the specific fishery in
question and to ensure the accurate completion of the DS-2031 forms. At
this time, the Department has determined that only shrimp and products
from shrimp harvested in the Northern Prawn Fishery, the Queensland
East Coast Trawl Fishery, and the Torres Strait Prawn Fishery in
Australia, and in the French Guiana domestic trawl fishery of France
are eligible for entry under this provision. A responsible government
official of Australia or France must sign in Block 8 of the DS-2031
form accompanying these imports into the United States.
In addition, shrimp and products of shrimp harvested in a manner or
under circumstances determined by the Department of State not to pose a
threat of the incidental taking of sea turtles may, under specific
circumstances, be eligible for importation into the United States under
the DS-2031 Box 7(A)(4) provision for shrimp ``harvested in a manner or
under circumstances not to pose a threat of the incidental taking of
sea turtles, as determined by the U.S. Department of State.'' The
Department has determined that shrimp and products from shrimp
harvested in the Spencer Gulf region in Australia, with shrimp baskets
in Hokkaido, Japan, with ``mosquito'' nets in the Republic of Korea,
Mediterranean red shrimp (Aristeus antennatus) and products from that
shrimp harvested in the Mediterranean Sea in Spain, and giant red
shrimp (Aristaeomorpha foliacea) and products from that shrimp
harvested in Italy may be imported into the United States under the DS-
2031 Box 7(A)(4) provision. A responsible government official of
Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain, or Italy must sign in
Block 8 of the DS-2031 form accompanying these imports into the United
States.
A completed DS-2031 Shrimp Exporter's/Importer's Declaration must
accompany all imports of shrimp and products from shrimp into the
United States. The DS-2031 form is accessible at the following link:
https://
[[Page 21366]]
eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds2031.PDF. Importers of shrimp and products
from shrimp harvested in certified nations and Hong Kong must either
provide the DS-2031 form to Customs and Border Protection at the port
of entry or provide the information required by the DS-2031 through the
Automated Commercial Environment. Importers of shrimp and products from
shrimp from certified nations and Hong Kong should mark the box 7(B)
provision for shrimp ``harvested in the waters of a nation currently
certified pursuant to Section 609 of Public Law 101-162'' regardless of
whether the shrimp is wild-caught or the product of aquaculture. DS-
2031 forms accompanying all imports of shrimp and products from shrimp
harvested in uncertified nations and economies, to include all
fisheries with determinations, must be originals with Box 7(A)(1),
7(A)(2), or 7(A)(4) checked, consistent with the form's instructions
with regard to the method of harvest of the shrimp and based on any
relevant prior determinations by the Department, and signed by the
exporter from the harvesting nation and a responsible government
official of the harvesting nation prior to export from the harvesting
nation.
The DS-2031 form must accompany the shipment through all stages of
the export process, including any transformation of the original
product and any shipment through any intermediary nation. The
Department did not determine that shrimp or products from shrimp
harvested in a manner as described in 7(A)(3) in any uncertified nation
or economy is eligible to enter the United States. Consequently,
7(A)(3) may not be marked on any DS-2031 form.
The importation of wild-caught shrimp or products from that shrimp
from any nation or fishery without a certification or determination
will not be allowed.
While Sec. 609 certification is a prerequisite for importing
certain wild-caught shrimp and products from that shrimp into the
United States, it does not guarantee that the import will be allowed to
enter the United States in all cases--shrimp and products from shrimp
from certified nations remain subject to any other applicable
restrictions on entry that may be in place.
The Department has communicated these certifications and
determinations under Sec. 609 to the Offices of Field Operations and of
Trade at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Deirdre M. Warner-Kramer,
Acting Director, Office of Marine Conservation, U.S. Department of
State.
[FR Doc. 2026-07676 Filed 4-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 21, 2026.
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