U.S. reopens Seafood Market to Grenada following marine protection reforms 

Grenada: In a significant development, Grenada has once again regained access to the United States seafood market after it updated its fisheries laws to comply with global marine protection standards. According to the information by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in September 2025 they determined that the island’s fisheries regulations were not comparable to the ones needed under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).

These concerns centred on the fact that the island nation did not have legislation specifically prohibiting the global killing or serious injury of marine mammals during fishing operations. Due to this regulatory gap, the US executed a ban on fish as well as fish product imports from Grenada starting January 1, 2026.

To fix this issue, Grenada began taking immediate steps and it addressed the regulatory concerns as well as aligned its fisheries laws with global standards.

On December 5, 2025, the island nation passed the Fisheries (Marine Mammals) Regulations 2025 law which introduced several key protections. The updated regulations included a permanent ban on the intentional killing, capture, harassment or serious injury of marine mammals; mandatory reporting requirements for marina mammal interactions and accidental bycatch; marine mammal management and monitoring program; ban on harmful fishing gear, including large-scale drift gillnets as well as stronger monitoring of fisheries which includes vessel oversight, licensing controls, fisher interviews as well as logbook reporting.

After reviewing Grenada’s updated application as well as regulatory framework, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) determined that the country’s fisheries management system now meets the comparability requirements of the U.S. regulatory program.

Officials also noted that Grenada has recorded no marine mammal landings in the past 30 years, reflecting a historically low impact on marine mammals.

Although monitoring programs are still being developed, Grenada is receiving technical assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to further strengthen enforcement and improve data collection.

The new plans included executing observer programs aboard vessels, introducing gear modifications designed to reduce risks to marine mammals and training fishers on safe practices.

To this end, NMFS granted comparability findings for all the fisheries of Grenada and effectively reversed its decision which was taken in September 2025. This now means that Grenadian fish exports can once again enter the American market and will preserve a significant economic channel for the fishing industry of the island.