After years of complex technical negotiations, the EU’s new system to ensure that fisheries rules are effectively applied has been formally adopted by the European Parliament.
Cameras on vessels identified as being of high risk of breaking the rules (based on previous infringements), electronic logbooks, satellite tracking for the entire EU fishing fleet by 2030 – including for about 50,000 small scale vessels – a digital information sharing system to ensure illegal imports are stopped, a minimum level for fines to harmonise sanctions across the EU, and improved data collection for recreational fisheries are just some of the new measures that will propel EU fishing practices and EU standards for seafood sold in its market into a far more sustainable reality.
Of particular significance is the move from a paper-based system – where more than 250,000 paper catch documents for seafood products were arriving at EU borders annually – to a digital system, where information and alerts can be shared much faster and at an EU-wide scale. Additional information, such as a vessel’s unique identification number, are also now mandatory to include.
A recent high-profile investigation has shown the dramatic environmental and human costs of certain seafood which may end up on our plates. To prevent this, complete transparency and robust traceability for all seafood products all along their supply chains is imperative – something the new Regulation directly supports.
In the coming months and years, however, many key details will need to be ironed out by the European Commission and adopted by all Member States: for instance, the establishment of a traceability system for processed seafood, and the technical specificities of future IT tools.
The EU fisheries Control Regulation is due to enter into force on the 1st of January 2024.