All EU fishing vessels will be monitored and their catches reported electronically, to ensure full traceability, under a revamped EU fisheries control system. The new fisheries control regulation measures were approved this week with 438 to 146 and 40 abstentions.
Under the new rules, all fishing vessels will need to carry on board a tracking device enabling national authorities to locate and identify them at regular intervals. Certain small-scale vessels may be exempted from this obligation until 2030 and all small-scale fishing fleets will get up to four years to adapt to these new requirements.
All EU vessels without exception will have to register and declare their catches using this digital framework. This applies to fishing logbooks, transhipment declarations and landing declarations. Skippers of vessels under 12 meters will be able to complete and submit a simplified declaration at the end of the fishing day.
For the first time, recreational boats will also have to declare catches, through electronic systems set up by national authorities or by the Commission.
‘We have reached a balanced agreement for the EU’s fisheries sector. The new control rules will be harmonised and more transparent, with fully digital procedures,’ commented rapporteur Clara Aguilera.
‘Fishers will have four years to adapt to the changes and the small-scale fisheries sector will benefit from simplified reporting obligations. With this, MEPs are responding to the demand of consumers for information about the origin of all the food they eat.’ The Regulation also tackles the current wide disparities between EU countries regarding sanctions. The value of fishery products caught by a vessel will now define the minimum level of fines applied to it in case of serious infringement of the rules.
The margin of tolerance – the difference between the estimate of the fish caught and the weight at the landing port – will be set at 10% per species, with some exceptions for small-volume catches and for some particular species. To guarantee the respect for the so-called landing obligation, EU vessels of 18 meters or more that may pose a high risk of non-compliance will have to carry on-board remote electronic monitoring systems, including closed-circuit television, at the latest four years after the entry into force of the legislation.
There will be a requirement to retain information from across the supply chain, from catch to plate, including from first sale to the retail stage of fishery and aquaculture products. This full digital traceability of fish and its derivatives should aims to reinforce food safety, ensure fairer competition and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
