Japan's Fisheries Agency has proposed widening the list of processed seafood that importers must back with proof of legal catch. The draft would add prepared saury and remove an exemption that currently shields products made mainly from squid parts.
What the draft changes
Under the 2020 law on domestic distribution of specified marine species, mackerel, saury, pilchard and squid are designated species. Their imports, and those of designated processed products made mainly from them, are barred unless accompanied by a certificate showing lawful harvest. The processed products are listed by notice of the agriculture minister, using import statistics item numbers.
The first change concerns prepared saury. It sits within import statistics heading 1604.19 (prepared or preserved fish) and has had no item number of its own. The agency says that is why it judged enforcement impractical and left the product outside the rules. A separate Finance Ministry-era statistics notice creating item 1604.19.030 was promulgated on 30 October 2026 and takes effect on 1 January 2027. That new number lets prepared saury meet the agency's designation criteria, so the draft adds it to the list.
The second change concerns squid. The current notice exempts products whose main ingredient is liver, roe, tongue, cheek, head or fins. The agency says squid and other molluscs differ from finfish: parts such as squid fins (ikamimi) and liver (ikawata, ikagoro) are imported individually as food. Citing the purpose of the law, it would limit the exemption to the fish species listed in items 1 to 3 of Article 3 of the enforcement rules. Products under import items 0307.43, 0307.49 and 1605.54 would drop out of the exemption.
Timing and how to respond
The agency opened the consultation on 5 November 2026. Submissions are accepted until 23:59 on 4 December 2026 through the e-Gov form, or by post to the Fisheries Agency's processing and distribution division, where mailed items must arrive by the deadline. Comments must be in Japanese. The agency asks senders to give their name, address and contact details, which it describes as voluntary. It says it will weigh the comments before deciding but will not reply to individual submissions.
Enforcement is planned for early July 2027. The draft notice leaves its own effective date blank.
The draft does not say how many products or what import volumes the change covers. For exporters and importers handling prepared saury or squid fins and liver, the practical question is whether their supply chains can document lawful harvest by next summer.