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NOAA Fisheries works to ensure confidence in U.S. seafood by protecting and strengthening the seafood market through global trade, establishing partnerships with industry and consumer groups, providing seafood inspection services, and analyzing seafood safety risks.
We offer voluntary seafood inspection services to processors and importers, domestically and internationally, to assist in meeting U.S. regulations and generally accepted seafood production best practices governing fishery products for human consumption. This service supports seafood safety and includes sanitation inspection, system and process audits, grading and inspection, and product laboratory analyses.
There are currently no upcoming events.
In 2016, NOAA Fisheries Seafood Inspection tested this amount of fishmeal exports worth $26 million.
In 2016, NOAA Fisheries National Seafood Inspection Lab inspected this amount of fish oil exports.
For imports of certain seafood products, there are reporting and record-keeping requirements needed to prevent illegally caught, unreported, unregulated, and/or misrepresented seafood from entering U.S. commerce. This provides additional protections for our national economy, global food security, and the sustainability of our shared ocean resources.
Learn more about the Seafood Import Monitoring Program
Approved establishments are processing facilities or vessels that have voluntarily contracted with the NOAA Seafood Inspection Program to be sanitarily inspected, approved, and certified for producing safe, wholesome products in accordance with specific quality regulations established by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Refer to the list of approved establishments to determine which fishery products have been produced in fish establishments approved by the NOAA Seafood Inspection Program.
Learn more about approved establishments
NOAA Seafood Inspection provides online validations of completed seafood inspection certificates. To use the system, you will need to know the certificate number, certificate number extension, certificate date, and species.
Learn more about how to get a certificate validated
The United States will implement sampling and testing to confirm the designation of harvest location for geoduck. Collection sites within a harvest locations will be determined based on relevant factors including, but not limited to, harvest activity and access to the site.
Learn more about geoduck openings
The National Seafood Inspection Lab provides accredited ISO 17025 analytical laboratory testing of seafood samples for bacterial pathogens, chemical contaminants, and other health hazards.
Learn more about the National Seafood Inspection Lab
We maintain a foreign trade database dating back to 1975 that allows users to summarize U.S. foreign trade (imports/exports) in fish products. You can summarize the weight and dollar value by year, product, country, and type of trade.
Learn more about foreign trade data
Learn about NOAA’s Seafood Inspection Program and the services we provide to the seafood industry.
Our Seafood Inspection Program maintains contractual agreements with seafood processors and foreign/domestic distributors to provide services supporting compliance with:
It’s a fee-for-service basis, which assures compliance with all applicable food regulations, servicing establishments such as vessels, processing plants, and retail facilities. Under authority in the 1946 Agricultural Marketing Act, we provide inspection services for fish, shellfish, and fishery products to the industry, nationwide, in U.S. territories, and in foreign countries. The program is the Competent Authority within the U.S. government for issuance of health certificates for export of fish and fishery products to foreign countries.
Effective November 1, 2022, the basic hourly fee for full-time, contracted, non-HACCP (food safety), inspection services provided by the USDC Seafood Inspection Program will be $238.00.
Inspection and Analytical Service Fees
We can help program participants achieve their marketing goals while maintaining compliance with the applicable federal regulations and policies. It is the USDC policy to work cooperatively and constructively with program participants and users of inspected products.
Learn more about the policy for advertising services and marks
We offer the same services to both U.S. and non-U.S. firms operating overseas or processing in foreign countries. The range of international services includes:
Training on the principles of auditing, hazardous analysis and critical control point (food safety), or sensory analysis.
On-site implementation and verification of HACCP-based process controls.
Third-party verification activities for foreign processors.
Certification agencies
Online certification through the Seafood Inspection Services Portal
SISP Tutorial for Contract Customers
We offer export certification services to facilitate exports of seafood products that meet the unique requirements of each importing country and any other specific industry buyer criteria.
We represent the United States in negotiations with other countries regarding their import requirements for seafood products from the United States. These negotiations frequently include the development and modification of certificates to accompany U.S. seafood exports. We are the Competent Authority to issue and sign these certificates in the United States.
If foreign border inspection posts raise questions about a certificate issued by the NOAA Seafood Inspection Program, NOAA will attest to the legitimacy of the certificate and make an effort to answer any questions. NOAA may act as a go-between for communication between the exporting industry and importing authority to quickly address issues that arise when a product is detained from entry.
Detentions related to export certificates may arise from simple language translation, varying interpretations of regulations in the importing country, or issues not related to seafood safety.
NOTE: Export certificates must be requested and issued prior to shipment of product.
We certify U.S. seafood products for export to the European Union.
Instructions and requirements are available for both export health certification and IUU catch documentation required for export to EU member countries.
Note: If products are first being exported to a non-EU country, but will subsequently be exported to the EU, they must be accompanied by an IUU catch document.
Learn more about export certification to the European Union
The NOAA Seafood Inspection Program certifies U.S. seafood products for export to any country requiring health certification.
Get country-specific instructions and requirements for export to non-EU countries:
The Certificate of Inspection – Fishery Product Intended for Re-Export to EU is provided upon request for products that are exported from the U.S. with the intent of reprocessing and re-export to EU. The processor of the product must be listed as a current approved shipper to the E.U. While this certificate confirms the product meets the stated attestation, it is not a Health Certificate. This certificate may be requested in conjunction with a Health Certificate or as a standalone document for all destinations except EU and EFTA.
Product Registration is an advanced component of the SISP online system that allows eligible industry members who choose to use it to register/certify product prior to leaving the United States without providing specifics of consignee. Product eligible for this program is defined as U.S. wild caught product that originated from a USDC Approved Establishment produced under an approved Quality Management Plan.
To view the component and its features select one of the following:
Requests for export certification of aquatic animal by-products not intended for human consumption are submitted via email in PDF format. The request form must be completed and submitted prior to shipment. Certificates are issued after verification that all U.S. requirements are met along with any specific requirements of the importing country. Email requests to: nmfs.nsil.fm.export@noaa.gov.
We maintain a database of verified completed seafood inspection certificates. To use the system, you will need to know the certificate number, certificate number extension, certificate date, and species.
The foreign country export requirements provided below are based on information from prior exports, official notifications, and available online websites from each country’s competent authority. The information is meant as guidance only, and all exporters should confirm product documentation requirements with the importer and the competent foreign authorities before production for export to a foreign market. We assume no liability for the accuracy of this information.
Information provided in each country’s webpage relates to certification requirements for fish and fishery products destined for human consumption. Certificates for these countries might include food safety/public health attestations, animal health attestations, or both. Email inquiries to NMFS.Seafood.Services@noaa.gov.
Various foreign destinations for U.S. fishery product export have listing requirements. Exporters should carefully review their current listing status prior to arranging shipments. This section provides links to current approval lists for specific destination countries.
The listed trade partners have various listing requirements for export from the United States involving shippers and/or processors. These lists are maintained by either U.S. Department of Commerce or Food and Drug Administration in partnership with the foreign government.
Go to foreign approved list
NOAA Fisheries plays a critical role in streamlining seafood trade in and out of the United States. Working in conjunction with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, we provide support to seafood dealers to ensure imported seafood, such as Patagonian toothfish, bluefin tuna, swordfish, and bigeye tuna, is caught and imported legally.
We maintain a foreign trade database dating back to 1975 that allows users to summarize U.S. foreign trade (imports/exports) in fish products. You can can summarize the weight and dollar value by year, product, country, and type of trade.
Learn more about foreign trade data
Sustainable fisheries are critical to our nation’s economy, not only for domestic jobs and sales, but also for the seafood we import and export. We work with other federal agencies to monitor imports and facilitate sustainable seafood trade. We deter IUU fish and fish products and misrepresented seafood from entering U.S. commerce. These efforts help ensure trade that supports food security and sustainable fisheries, and complement policy efforts supporting engagement with multilateral entities and Free Trade Agreements.
We work with other federal agencies to monitor imports and facilitate sustainable seafood trade.
Learn more about our trade monitoring programs:
Seafood traders can use our Seafood Import and Export Tool to identify the NOAA trade monitoring programs with which they must comply. The tool walks users through several questions about the species and products they wish to trade. It supplies them with the specific programs applicable to them and the requirements of those programs.
All four trade monitoring programs require an International Fisheries Trade Permit to import, export, or re-export fish and fish products subject to NOAA Fisheries’ trade monitoring programs. Only one permit is needed for all our trade programs.
NOAA Fisheries maintains a foreign trade database that allows users to query U.S. foreign trade in fishery products. Users can summarize the weight and dollar value by year, product, country, and type of trade.
The seafood sector plays an important role in the U.S. economy, generating approximately 1.5 million jobs and providing a nutritious source of protein to the American public. As the largest importer and fifth largest exporter of seafood, trade in this sector plays a vital role in the United States.
As a large seafood-consuming and fishing nation, it is critical that we take an active role in shaping the conservation and management regimes of international fisheries. We work to meet the demand of U.S. consumers that imported seafood be safe, legal, and sustainable and ensure confidence in U.S. seafood by protecting and strengthening the seafood market through global trade.
United States Trade Representative Trade Agreements
We help U.S. seafood producers maintain access and competitiveness in foreign markets. Our export certificates help U.S. producers meet the unique requirements of each importing country.
More about export certification
We engage with international organizations to promote trade and sound management and help conserve global fisheries resources in a manner consistent with U.S. domestic fisheries policy.
More about our international engagement
NOAA Fisheries National Seafood Inspection Laboratory is an accredited ISO/IEC 17025:2017 laboratory providing analyses, data management, regulatory compliance risk analysis, and technology transfer expertise to meet fishery management and seafood safety responsibilities. The lab shares seafood and aquatic animal health information and data with other federal and state agencies, academia, industry, media, and seafood consumers.
We perform a number of analytical tests for clients in the seafood industry on imported and domestic fishery products on a fee-for-service basis. These services include testing products for methyl mercury, heavy metals, bisulfites, histamines, and moisture, as well as testing for veterinary drug analyses.
Contact the National Seafood Inspection Laboratory’s Chemical Analytical Services
We conduct microbiological analyses on fishery products to test for a number of contaminants, including salmonella, staphylococcus aureus, fecal coliforms, and vibrio bacteria, among others.
Contact the National Seafood Inspection Laboratory’s Microbiological Services