State Dept. Issues Annual List of Countries Certified to Export Shrimp to US

The State Department updated its list of countries certified to have a regulatory program for protection of sea turtles that is comparable to that of the U.S., or to fish in conditions that pose no risk to sea turtles, and therefore eligible to export shrimp to the U.S. without a certification from a government official on State Form DS-2031. The list includes 39 countries and Hong Kong. Countries with a comparable regulatory program include Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Gabon, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama and Suriname. Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Uruguay harvest in an environment that poses no risk; and the Bahamas, Belize, China, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Oman, Peru, Sri Lanka and Venezuela employ practices that don’t pose a risk to sea turtles, State said.