Illegal fishing

EU rules to combat IUU fishing

The EU is working to close the loopholes that allow operators to profit from IUU fishing activities.

The EU regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (in short: the IUU Regulation) entered into force on 1 January 2010.

The Commission is working actively with all stakeholders to ensure coherent application of the IUU Regulation.

Only marine fishery products accompanied by catch certificates validated by the competent flag state can be imported into the EU.

The EU regularly updates the IUU vessel list. It includes IUU vessels identified by regional fisheries management organisations.

The IUU Regulation can take steps against states turning a blind eye to illegal fishing activities: the Commission first issues a warning (yellow card), then if the country is still not complying, it will identify the country as non-cooperating. (the so-called red card) and place it in the list of non-cooperating countries. Fisheries products from the country in question will then be banned from the EU market (see the fact sheet below).

The IUU Regulation also applies to EU operators operating anywhere in the world and under any flag.

CATCH is the first IT tool to streamline checks and verifications of catch certificates for fishery products entering the EU market.