The way fishing is handled has been brought up to date with the addition of new rules for a more robust control system for EU vessels and fishing in EU waters.
The rules will help prevent overfishing, create a more effective and harmonised fisheries control system and ensure a level playing field between sea basins and fleets.
The revised EU fisheries control regulation updates most of the rules for controlling fishing vessels to align with technological developments and make EU fishing more sustainable.
The main changes relate to improved monitoring of fishing activities and traceability of catches by using the best available technology and sanctioning those breaching the rules.
The new provisions will ensure a more harmonised fisheries control system for EU fisheries and better preserve marine resources through:
- Strengthened fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU).
- The transition to full digitalisation, new technologies and modern data management.
Going digital for the first time
For the first time, full digital traceability will be mandatory along the supply chain, enabling the authorities to tackle illegal fishing more effectively. The system will be mandatory for fresh, frozen fish and aquaculture products. It will gradually be expanded to processed fish and aquaculture products, such as canned products, giving more information on the origin. These rules will apply to all fishery products, including imports.
The new EU control system rules also strengthen the compliance of the ‘landing obligation’ (to make sure unwanted catches are not illegally discarded at sea but brought to shore): they include obligations for remote electronic monitoring (with onboard cameras) for fishing vessels above 18 meters that present a high risk of non-compliance with this obligation. Also, there are harmonised sanctions for breaching the rules of the common fisheries policy, particularly for serious infringements.
New rules for imported fishery products
The IT tool CATCH will become compulsory. EU importers must use CATCH from 9 January 2026 to submit the catch certificates for importing fishery products in the EU market.
CATCH streamlines the catch certification process for fishery products entering the EU market and offers a fully digitalised and paperless workflow. It facilitates the exchange of data, information and documents between all involved trading parties and control authorities, simplifying and speeding up administrative procedures.
CATCH makes it easier to identify and prohibit the importation into the EU of fishery products obtained from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU), thus improving the effectiveness of the EU IUU Regulation’s catch certification scheme.
Next steps
The regulation enters into force on 9 January 2024 but there are transitional provisions to leave enough time for the EU's fishing authorities and other relevant stakeholders to adapt to the new requirements. However, nost provisions of the amended regulation will apply in 2 years, from 10 January 2026. Derogations to the tolerance margin apply in 6 months (from 9 July 2024).
Some provisions will apply only after four years (from 10 January 2028), as their implementation may require some preparatory work, such as remote electronic monitoring or electronic tracking and catch recording for small-scale fleets.
Few other provisions will apply only after five years (from 10 January 2029), such as traceability for prepared and preserved fishery and aquaculture products or algae. Furthermore, in the coming months and years, the European Commission will adopt the necessary regulations to ensure a harmonised implementation of the new rules across the EU.
Details
- Publication date
- 15 February 2024