Fishing: EU Parliament and EU Council come to an agreement on seafood traceability

Negotiators from Parliament and the Swedish Council Presidency reached an agreement on an “update of Common Fisheries Policy rules, particularly regarding the monitoring of fisheries activities and the traceability of fish products”. This has been announced in a notice by the European Parliament. According to the agreed text, “information on fresh and frozen fish will be fully accessible, including digitally, to safeguard food safety and consumer interests. This system of digitalised traceability will also be extended to cover processed fish in five years”. EU vessels of 18 meters or more will have on-board remote electronic monitoring (REM) systems, including closed-circuit television (CCTV), “to guarantee respect for the so-called landing obligation”. EU countries will have to put in place tracking systems on all EU fishing vessels, including those smaller than 12 meters. Small-scale vessels can, however, be exempted from the tracking obligation under limited circumstances until 2030. In addition, the member states will have to check “recreational fisheries’ compliance and determine appropriate sanctions”. Recreational fisheries that sell catches weighing over 10kgs or more than €50 will be considered in serious infringement. Negotiators agreed that the margin of tolerance, the difference between the estimate of the fish caught and the result of the weighting in the landing port, will be of 10% per species. “A margin of tolerance of 20% will apply for any other species on board that does not exceed 100kg”.
Valentina Bombelli