The US Division of Commerce and the Nationwide Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), a US federal company, awarded Pakistan a two-year extension to the Marine Mammal Safety Act (MMPA) exemption interval.
“This important extension, as outlined in a Federal Register Discover, extends the deadline for comparability findings for industrial fishing operations exporting fish and fish merchandise to the US to December 31, 2025,” mentioned the Ministry of Finance in a press release on Tuesday.
Initially the exemption interval was set to conclude on December 31, 2023.
“This achievement isn’t just about securing an extension; it’s a testomony to Pakistan’s dedication to aligning its fishing practices with the best worldwide requirements,” learn the assertion.
“The extension underscores Pakistan’s dedication to upholding the goals of the Marine Mammal Safety Act whereas navigating the sensible challenges of evaluating regulatory packages in overseas nations.
“Furthermore, this additionally units a strong precedent for different nations to comply with swimsuit, demonstrating Pakistan’s management in sustainable marine useful resource administration,” it added.
As per the finance ministry, the extension represents a notable revision to the laws implementing the import provisions of the Marine Mammal Safety Act (MMPA), initially launched in 2016.
The laws initially granted overseas nations a five-year exemption interval to develop regulatory packages addressing marine mammal bycatch akin to US requirements.
The Ministry of Finance mentioned that the NMFS, which is entrusted with evaluating every nation’s regulatory packages, acknowledges the complexity of assessing the incidental and intentional mortality and severe harm of marine mammals in fisheries exporting to the US.
“The Division of Commerce and NMFS, in a strategic transfer, have decided that extra time is important to make sure truthful and constant comparability determinations throughout harvesting nations,” it added.