Immediate import restrictions on fish and fish products from Mexico caught with gillnets 

In response to an United States Court of International Trade order (Slip-Op 18-92) and in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is imposing immediate import restrictions on fish and fish products from Mexico caught with gillnets deployed in the range of the vaquita, a species of porpoise endemic to northern Gulf of California waters in Mexico and listed as an endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

This action prohibits the importation into the United States from Mexico of all shrimp, curvina, sierra, and chano fish and fish products harvested by gillnets in the upper Gulf of California (UGC) within the vaquita’s geographic range.  To effectuate the court order, shrimp, curvina, sierra, and chano fish and fish products imported into the United States under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes listed below, caught with a gillnet within the vaquita’s range, are prohibited  from entry into the United States.  Any shrimp, curvina, sierra, and chano fish and fish products imported under certain HTS codes from Mexico as country of origin must be accompanied by the certification set forth below upon arrival.

CBP is requiring that all other fish and fish products not within the scope of the import restrictions, but imported under the HTS codes listed here on the, HTS Codes Prohibited Entry into the United States from Mexico Unless Accompanied by a U.S. Importer of Record Certification, from Mexico as country of origin be accompanied by the following certification statement upon arrival.