Water-tight? How to Improve EU Controls to Keep Out Illegal Seafood

Nov. 28, 2022 | Online

The EU IUU Fishing Coalition* is pleased to invite you to the launch of our latest study ‘Water-tight? Assessing the effectiveness of EU controls to prevent illegal seafood imports’.

The event will bring together representatives from the European Commission, Member States, civil society and industry to discuss the findings of our new study which analyses the biennial reports, submitted by Member States, on the implementation of the EU IUU Regulation to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The report reveals concerning disparities between Member States in the implementation of the Regulation across a range of aspects, including documentary checks of import catch certificates, the application of a risk-based approach to assessing catch certificates, verification of catch certificates, physical inspections of consignments and the rejection of consignments in cases of non-compliance.

We will use this event to discuss the report’s findings and how the above disparities impair the EU’s effort to fight IUU fishing and protect its market. The Coalition will also present a number of recommendations to ensure effective and harmonised implementation of the Regulation. This discussion will be held in the context of the recently published European Court of Auditors’ special report on the implementation of the IUU Regulation.

This event is for anybody who is interested in learning how Member States can better identify high-risk seafood imports and how to stop them entering the EU market. Urgent action is required by all Member States to ensure that EU citizens are protected from illegal seafood products.

Registration