Irish government urged to act to reverse US ban on country's salmon

Salmon farmers in Ireland have urged the government to take immediate action after the United States announced that it was banning imports of farmed salmon from Ireland rom January 1, 2026.

The ban is the result of a decision by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), which prohibits the import of products if marine mammals may have been harmed in their production.

Ireland’s Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority’s (SFPA) issued an Information Notice last week, outlining that the ban arises from a NOAA determination that Ireland’s salmon from an aquaculture source does not meet US regulatory equivalence standards - specifically regarding provisions under the Wildlife Act 1976 that are deemed insufficient to provide reassurance to the US authorities.

Disproportionate move

Catherine McManus, vice-chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association’s aquaculture division and farming operations director for Mowi Ireland, said the decision is disproportionate and a blow to Ireland’s premium aquaculture sector.

She stressed that the determination is based on a technical legal interpretation rather than any evidence of harm or non-compliance within Irish salmon farming operations.

The US ban will affect salmon from aquaculture sources and spiny lobster.

Diplomatic effort

Brendan Byrne, general secretary of the Irish Fish Processors & Exporters Association (IFPEA), said the issue is solvable - but only if treated with urgency.

“We need immediate diplomatic effort from all of government to resolve this issue. The loss of access to the US market not only threatens jobs and investment in coastal communities but also undermines confidence in Ireland’s seafood exports globally,” said Byrne.

“This is a major setback for Irish aquaculture and the seafood processing sector. The US market is small but strategically important, and a ban sends entirely the wrong signal internationally. We need government action now, not in six months.”

'Change the law'

IFA Aquaculture and IFPEA are calling on the relevant Irish government ministers to engage urgently with NOAA and the European Commission to secure an interim resolution and to amend the relevant provisions of Ireland’s Wildlife Act to align with international equivalence requirements.

In 2020, the Scottish government amended the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 to ensure compliance with the US Marine Mammal Protection Act and continued access to the US marketplace for the Scottish salmon industry.

Although it was already illegal to shoot seals, salmon farming companies and angling fishery boards could apply for licences to kill seals predating at farms or in river systems. The amendment removed specific grounds for which ministers were able to grant licences to kill, injure or take seals.