How to Import Fish Into the United States: Permits, Rules & Costs

To import fish into the United States, you need to line up permits and declarations from several federal agencies, file advance notices on their separate timelines, bring the shipment in through an approved port, and confirm your species and source country are not blocked by conservation, disease, or marine mammal rules. The exact stack of paperwork depends on whether the fish are live or processed, wild-caught or farmed, for human consumption or for an aquarium, and commercial or personal. One thing changed on January 1, 2026: seafood from foreign fisheries that lack a NOAA “comparability finding” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act can no longer enter the country, so supplier vetting now starts before any permit application.

Which Federal Agencies Are Involved

Five agencies split the job, and each cares about something different.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) enforces the Lacey Act and CITES, controls which species can cross the border, and requires a declaration for every wildlife shipment.¹ USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulates live fish, eggs, and gametes susceptible to Spring Viremia of Carp (SVC) and Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV).² The FDA oversees seafood safety and labeling for anything intended for human consumption.³ NOAA Fisheries runs the Seafood Import Monitoring Program and enforces MMPA import provisions.⁴ U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processes the entry, collects duties, and enforces the other agencies’ rules at the port.⁵

Permits, Licenses, and Declarations You Need

USFWS Import/Export License

Anyone importing wildlife commercially, fish included, needs a USFWS Import/Export License before the first shipment. It costs $100 and is separate from any species-specific permit.⁶ The commercial threshold is lower than most people expect: eight or more similar unused items create a legal presumption of commercial activity.⁷

FWS Form 3-177 Declaration

Every fish or wildlife shipment entering the country requires a completed Form 3-177 listing the scientific name of each species, quantity, total value in U.S. dollars, and country of origin. Failing to file it violates the Endangered Species Act.⁸

CITES Permits

Species listed under CITES need both an export permit from the country of origin and a USFWS import permit. For live animals, the import side is filed on USFWS Form 3-200-37a.¹

APHIS Import Permit and Health Certificate

Live fish, fertilized eggs, and gametes from SVC- or TiLV-susceptible species need a USDA import permit applied for at least seven business days before shipping. The permit is valid for 30 days. The shipment must also carry an English-language veterinary health certificate from the exporting country’s government veterinarian, confirming the fish were inspected within 72 hours of shipment and found free of clinical disease signs. The source facility or region must have run SVC surveillance for at least two continuous years with all-negative results. Shipping containers must be new or cleaned and disinfected under the certifying veterinary official’s supervision, with the disinfection documented on a certificate that travels with the shipment.⁹²

FDA Prior Notice

All food imports, seafood included, require electronic prior notice to the FDA before arrival. Minimum lead times are two hours for road, four hours for rail or air, and eight hours for ocean cargo. File through CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) or the FDA Prior Notice System Interface. The notice must identify the product, manufacturer, shipper, grower where known, country of origin, and expected arrival details.¹⁰

Importer Security Filing (Ocean Cargo)

Seafood arriving by vessel requires an Importer Security Filing, known as “10+2.” Most elements, including seller, buyer, manufacturer, country of origin, and tariff classification, must be filed at least 24 hours before cargo is loaded at the foreign port. Container stuffing location and consolidator information are due no later than 24 hours before U.S. arrival.¹¹

NOAA International Fisheries Trade Permit

If your species is covered by the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (see below), you also need a valid NOAA International Fisheries Trade Permit (IFTP).¹²

Species You Can’t Import

USFWS maintains an injurious wildlife list under the Lacey Act (18 U.S.C. 42) that bans importation of species considered threats to native ecosystems. Fish currently on the list include bighead carp, silver carp, black carp, crucian carp, Prussian carp, Nile perch, wels catfish, European perch, zander, stone moroko, Eurasian minnow, and roach. The ban covers only live specimens unless otherwise noted.¹³

The entire salmon family (Salmonidae) is classified as injurious because of the pathogens it can carry. All 242-plus species of salmon, trout, char, grayling, and freshwater whitefish are covered. Importing live salmonids requires written approval from the USFWS Director plus a pathogen certification confirming negative virus assays for four specific diseases. Dead salmonids that have not been gutted need the same pathogen certification. The restriction lifts entirely for fish that are eviscerated, filleted, canned, smoked, or otherwise processed to eliminate pathogen risk.¹⁴

Importing an injurious species for research, zoological display, or another approved purpose is done through USFWS Form 3-200-42.¹⁵

The 2026 Marine Mammal Protection Act Rule

Enforcement of the Marine Mammal Protection Act import provisions began on January 1, 2026. Every foreign nation exporting fish to the United States must obtain a “comparability finding” from NOAA for each of its commercial fisheries, showing that its marine mammal protections are comparable to the U.S. program. Fisheries denied a comparability finding lost the ability to export to the United States as of that date. Findings are valid for four years, after which nations must reapply. Some nations initially denied have since resolved their issues and regained access, so the roster of eligible fisheries shifts over time.¹⁶

Before contracting with a foreign supplier, verify that their specific fishery holds a current comparability finding. NOAA publishes determinations in the Federal Register, and a shipment from a fishery without one will be blocked regardless of your other paperwork.

FDA Rules for Seafood Intended for Human Consumption

HACCP Verification

Every seafood importer must verify that their foreign processor follows Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) procedures equivalent to U.S. standards. Two paths exist: source from a country with an active FDA agreement documenting equivalency, or develop your own written verification procedures. Most importers take the second path, since few countries have such agreements.³

Written verification can mean obtaining HACCP and sanitation records for each lot, getting certificates from the foreign government or a qualified third party, periodically inspecting the foreign facility, or keeping an English-language copy of the processor’s HACCP plan with a written guarantee of compliance. English-language records of whatever steps you use must be retained; those records are what the FDA will ask for if a shipment gets flagged.

Labeling

Imported seafood labels must show an acceptable market or common name for the species (the FDA publishes an approved Seafood List), country of origin, net weight, and importer information, all in English. An unauthorized species name makes the product misbranded under federal law.¹⁷

Import Alerts

When the FDA identifies a pattern of violations from a foreign processor or product, it places the firm on an Import Alert. Shipments from listed firms are detained automatically without physical examination, and the importer must prove the product is safe before release. Removal requires documenting that the underlying violation has been resolved, which can take months.¹⁸

Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP)

NOAA’s SIMP applies to imports of more than 1,100 species in 13 groups: abalone, Atlantic cod, Pacific cod, blue crab (Atlantic), dolphinfish (mahi mahi), grouper, red king crab, northern red snapper, sea cucumber, sharks, shrimp, swordfish, and tunas (albacore, bigeye, bluefin, skipjack, and yellowfin).⁴

For a SIMP species, you must report harvest event data electronically through ACE at entry: harvesting vessel’s name and flag state, gear type, fishing authorization, species codes, harvest area, landing dates, product form, and weight at landing. After entry, keep chain-of-custody records covering processing, reprocessing, transshipment, and any commingling for at least two years.¹²

Where Your Shipment Can Enter the Country

USFWS restricts commercial wildlife imports, fish included, to 17 designated ports, including Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, Anchorage, and Honolulu, among others. Importing through any other port requires a Designated Port Exception Permit (USFWS Form 3-200-2), which costs $100 to apply for and is granted only for scientific purposes, to prevent deterioration of perishable wildlife, or to alleviate significant economic hardship. Even with the exception permit, you’ll pay a higher base inspection fee and may cover all travel costs for a USFWS officer to reach your port.¹⁹²⁰

Shellfish and fishery products imported for human consumption, and recreational catch brought back from international waters, can enter at any customs port, provided the species doesn’t require a separate CITES or Endangered Species Act permit.⁷

Advance Notice Windows and Entry

Each agency has its own clock, and missing any one of them can hold the shipment at the dock:

USFWS: at least 48 hours’ notice before arrival at a designated port for live or perishable wildlife.²¹
APHIS: 72 hours’ notice to the port veterinarian for SVC- or TiLV-susceptible species.
FDA: 2, 4, or 8 hours depending on transport mode.
ISF (ocean cargo): at least 24 hours before loading at the foreign port.

At the port, CBP processes formal entry while USFWS and FDA may run inspections of their own. USFWS verifies species identification and permit compliance; FDA may sample the product. If anything doesn’t line up, the shipment can be delayed, refused, re-exported, or seized. CBP requires a customs bond for commercial imports over $2,500, and because fish imports are subject to other-agency requirements, a bond is generally required regardless of value.²²

Costs to Budget For

Import duties depend on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). Rates vary widely by species, product form, and country. Fresh trout enters duty-free under the general rate; crabmeat faces a 7.5% ad valorem duty; sturgeon roe carries a 30% rate. Many products qualify for preferential rates under free trade agreements. Fish and crustaceans sit in HTS Chapter 3, processed seafood preparations in Chapter 16.²³

USFWS wildlife inspection fees apply to every shipment. The base fee at a designated port is $93 per shipment. At a non-designated port under an exception permit, the base rises to $145, plus potentially all travel and per diem for the inspecting officer. Live or protected species trigger a premium inspection fee of $93 per category, so a shipment of live CITES-listed fish could add $186 in premium fees alone.²⁴

Other line items include the $100 USFWS Import/Export License, the APHIS import permit application fee for regulated live fish, the NOAA IFTP for SIMP species, and customs broker fees if you use one. Duties must be paid before CBP releases the shipment.⁵

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

Under the Lacey Act, someone who should have known the fish were illegally taken or traded faces a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation. Knowingly importing fish in violation of the law is criminal: fines up to $20,000, up to five years in prison, or both.²⁵

CBP assesses liquidated damages of $5,000 per violation for late, inaccurate, or missing ISFs. A first offense can sometimes be reduced to between $1,000 and $2,000, but repeat violations get no such leniency, and CBP won’t negotiate at all if it determines law enforcement was compromised.²⁶

A shipment that fails FDA inspection can be detained, refused admission, or ordered destroyed. If the FDA places your foreign supplier on an Import Alert, future shipments from that supplier will be detained automatically until the underlying problem is documented as resolved. Repeated violations can lead the FDA to refuse entry of all products from a particular foreign processor.¹⁸

Personal Imports and What Still Applies

If you’re bringing back fish you caught or importing a pet, some commercial requirements fall away, but the species rules don’t. Individual owners of personally owned live pet fish don’t need a USFWS Import/Export License.⁷ Shellfish and fishery products for personal consumption and recreational catch from international waters can enter at any customs port. Non-commercial wildlife products carried in personal baggage can also enter at any customs port, though not if the species requires a permit under injurious wildlife, endangered species, or CITES rules.

Personal imports still require a Form 3-177 declaration. Injurious species restrictions and CITES rules apply. Salmonid pathogen certification has no personal-use exception. Eight or more similar fish or fish products may trigger a presumption of commercial purpose. For a live pet fish of an SVC- or TiLV-susceptible species, the APHIS package (import permit, health certificate, and entry through a port with a USDA veterinarian available for inspection) applies in full.²

1
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2
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eCFR. 21 CFR 123.12 – Special Requirements for Imported Products
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16
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