US bans imports of Irish farmed salmon over seal killing rules

Editor/Mohamed Shihab

“This is a major setback for Irish aquaculture and the seafood processing sector," said the general secretary of the Irish Fish Processors & Exporters Association.Ireland will no longer be able to export farmed salmon to the United States from the start of 2026, because its regulations around seal killings are not aligned with US regulations, according to a decision by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).The issue centres around the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in the United States.