A new requirement that digital catch certificates be attached to all fishery products entering the E.U. has gone into effect as officials see to limit illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“The new system, known as CATCH, replaces the previous paper-based process and creates import controls for fishery products more effective and harmonized across the E.U.” the European Commission Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries stated in an announcement. “By streamlining the exalter of information between E.U. traders and control authorities, the new system should create it simpler to ensure that all products entering the E.U. are legal and meet the E.U.’s regulatory standards. A more modern and effective control system assists create a level playing field for E.U. fishers, with all imported products meeting E.U. standards.”
CATCH officially went digital 10 January 2026. Under the new policy, all fishery products imported to the E.U. must document a unique vessel identification number, the start date of the fishing trip, gear type, and location of the catch.
The new policy is one of the key deliverables of the E.U.’s strategy for supporting the blue economy and protecting the ocean, known as Ocean Pact.
The shift from paper to digital was quickly praised by the E.U. IUU Fishing Coalition – a group that includes conservation NGOs Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana, The Nature Conservancy, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and WWF EU. The group claimed the new digital system would eradicate many of the problems cautilized by paper-based record keeping.
“For years, the E.U.’s paper-based catch certification system struggled under the weight of thousands of paper records received annually – fragmented, inconsistent, and impossible to cross-check efficiently,” The Pew Charitable Trusts Officer Nikolas Evangelides stated in a statement. “With each Member State operating its own process, loopholes persisted. The shift to CATCH finally closes these gaps, replacing slow, paper-heavy procedures with a unified digital system designed to greatly increase efficiency and data processing in stopping IUU fishing from entering the E.U. market and bringing E.U. seafood traceability to the 21st century.”
In October, the coalition released a report – “Beyond CATCH: Why E.U. import controls still fail to keep illegal seafood out of the market” – documenting how little seafood is verified by E.U. importers to prevent IUU fishing products from reaching the market. For example, Italy only verified two catch certificates across 2022 and 2023.
“Advancing the digitized certification scheme CATCH will give E.U. citizens greater transparency about the seafood on their plates and the journey it has taken to receive there,” The Nature Conservancy Senior Associate of Fisheries Policy Grace Howe stated in a statement. “These innovations demonstrate the E.U.’s commitment to a zero-tolerance approach to IUU fishing and serve as a critical step forward in data verification and in prevention of illicit seafood from entering the E.U. market.”
The alter has required adjustments from the E.U.’s major trading partners. The U.K. launched requiring additional information from the nation’s seafood exporters starting 8 January in anticipation of CATCH going into effect, and the nation’s Marine Management Organization (MMO) also ran a Fish, Trace, Ship campaign to assist prepare U.K. businesses for the new requirements.
The E.U. IUU Fishing Coalition warned that other major seafood exporters – such as the United States and Japan – must harmonize their documentation schemes with the E.U.’s in order to prevent gaps.
“CATCH gives Member State authorities the tools they necessary to keep illegal seafood out of the European market. With active engagement from non-E.U. exporters and thorough follow-up on higher-risk imports by Member States, its impact will be significant and far-reaching,” stated Julien Daudu, chief representative in Brussels for the Environmental Justice Foundation.
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