NOAA halts export health certificates for U.S. seafood bound for Türkiye

Alaska processors with product headed for Turkish buyers have no way to get the export health certificates required to ship it. NOAA Fisheries announced Tuesday that its Seafood Inspection Program is "currently unable to issue Export Health Certificates for fish and fish products destined for Türkiye," because "U.S. seafood establishments have not been accepted for listing in Türkiye's system."

Türkiye's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry notified trade partners on Aug. 19, 2025, that as of Jan. 1, 2026, fishery and aquaculture products for human consumption could enter only from establishments on its TROIS approved country and establishment list, the Turkish import control system, and that "veterinary health certificates should not be issued" for exports from non-listed establishments.

U.S. seafood exports to Türkiye were $13.2 million last year and $2.8 million through July, NOAA trade data show, and 94 percent of this year's value is product unfit for human consumption, which the certificates do not cover. Edible exports came to $160,819, including $19,769 of frozen Pacific salmon fillets in May.

NOAA's country page already listed Türkiye as requiring the European Union model health certificate and physical inspection of every shipment, since Türkiye is not part of the U.S.-EU Veterinary Equivalence Agreement. Certification for fishery by-products not intended for human consumption has been unavailable pending agreement on a certificate format.

NOAA-approved Alaska establishments obtain their export certificates through the state Department of Environmental Conservation's Food Safety and Sanitation office in Anchorage.

NOAA said U.S. government agencies continue to engage with the Turkish ministry to "determine a path forward." The notice gives no deadline for listing U.S. plants.