Seafood industry representatives are requesting the European Union provide additional time to find workable solutions to changing EU CATCH certification requirements.
The core challenge lies in the requirement for each imported shipment to provide traceability of each harvest vessel’s contribution to each product by weight (including vessel identifier and date of landing). Alaska industry representatives assert that compliance with these requirements is not feasible due to the realities of how seafood in Alaska is harvested and processed.
‘We are observing instances in which imports from highly regulated US fisheries, which carry essentially a zero-percent IUU risk, are facing unintended administrative blockages due to document constraints,’ said Guus Pastoor, President of Seafood Europe.
‘This highlights broader, practical implementation challenges for third-country traceability as a whole, which are currently placing a heavy burden of delays and increased operational costs on EU importers and forwarders.’
‘The European Union is Alaska’s largest trading partner. Over $750 million in direct Alaska exports entered the EU market in 2025,’ said Jeremy Woodrow at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI).
‘The trusted and longstanding relationship between Alaska and the European Union has been built over many decades, and any disruption carries long-term negative consequences for Alaskan fishermen, processors and communities, and European importers, businesses and consumers.’
Numerous operational practices, implemented to increase quality, reduce costs, and fully utilise harvests, are commonplace in Alaska and would lead to near bans on important wild Alaska seafood species and products including all five Pacific salmon species, as well as salmon fish oil, meal and roe.
Other species such as Alaska pollock, cod, sablefish and more, may face compliance barriers that would prohibit import, depending on each situation’s handling, transfer and processing practices.
One example of a widespread operational practice is commingling, when smaller vessels consolidate catches on tenders, and tenders consolidate catches at processors. One tender may even consolidate their load onto another tender. This practice, which has been in existence for decades, improves quality and operational efficiency, and reduces costs for fishermen, processors, and ultimately consumers.
‘The EU’s new digital CATCH certification system introduces harvest vessel traceability requirements that are incompatible with Alaska fisheries, where catches are routinely aggregated across vessels and tenders to maintain quality and efficiency,’ said Julie Decker, President of Pacific Seafood Processors Association (PSPA).
‘Some shipments would require several thousand data entries, imposing prohibitive costs on exporters and importers alike. Without modifications, these requirements risk halting a substantial portion of US seafood exports to the EU – despite Alaska fisheries being among the most rigorously managed and transparent in the world.’
Even companies that can comply could find the administrative burden too high, leading them to redirect sales to other global markets.
Seafood Europe, ASMI, PSPA, APA, and NFI have all reiterated their support for traceability and responsible seafood sourcing, but emphasize that additional time is needed to find system adjustments and alternative solutions for compliance with EU CATCH.
‘IUU fishing is a real challenge that threatens marine resources and undermines fair competition for responsible harvesters,’ said Lisa Wallenda Picard, President and CEO of National Fisheries Institute (NFI).
‘It thrives where there is a lack of strong monitoring, enforcement, and fisheries’ governance. That is far from the case in Alaska. US fisheries operate under one of the most rigorous, science-based management and enforcement frameworks in the world, with accountability at every step.’
