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DRAFT REPORT (2023/2027(INI))

On the impact of illegal fishing on food security – the role of the European Union

PECH-PR-753497

Committee on Fisheries · Rapporteur: Nuno Melo

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 17 Oct 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

This draft report by Parliament's Committee on Fisheries calls for a zero-tolerance approach to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, applied equally to all countries. It asks the Commission and member states to harmonise and strengthen import controls, support national authorities, and make the CATCH IT catch-certificate system fully operational. It urges member states to apply dissuasive sanctions and improve information sharing, and calls for no preferential market access for nations linked to IUU fishing or severe labour violations. It also urges more Commission staff on ocean governance and IUU fishing, and backs multilateral catch documentation schemes to improve traceability.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes that Parliament call for a zero-tolerance approach to IUU fishing, harmonised and better-resourced import controls, a fully operational CATCH IT system, dissuasive sanctions, no preferential market access for countries linked to IUU fishing, and more Commission staff on the issue.

Key points

  1. Reaffirms the need for the EU and member states to keep a zero-tolerance approach to IUU fishing, applied equally to all countries regardless of size, and to promote sustainable fisheries and food security.
  2. Requests EU guidelines on how best to improve implementation of the IUU Regulation in member states failing to uphold its requirements and how to verify information in biennial reports.
  3. Encourages member states to allocate sufficient capacity and resources for effective import controls.
  4. Says the Commission must support national authorities controlling seafood imports, including lists of non-EU conservation measures and information on shortcomings in non-EU countries.
  5. Says the Commission, with the European Fisheries Control Agency and member states, must give further support to national authorities through guidance, exchanges of good practices and training.
  6. Encourages the Commission to pursue consistent import control procedures across the EU, including catch certificate checks, a risk-based approach and verifications, and to harmonise controls to keep IUU products out of the EU market.
  7. Encourages the Commission to make the CATCH IT system fully operational and familiar to national authorities within two years from the date of application of Article 4 of the revised Fisheries Control Regulation, and to secure sufficient human resources for it.
  8. Encourages swift inclusion of more comprehensive risk criteria and data cross-checks in CATCH IT, risk assessment at least as thorough as in member states with electronic systems, and interoperability with national systems without extra burden on operators.
  9. Urges the Commission to increase staff working on ocean governance and IUU fishing in its Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.
  10. Encourages member states to prepare procedures for legal adoption of CATCH IT, reinforce control systems against illegal imports, and apply dissuasive sanctions against illegal fishing.
  11. Calls on the Commission and member states not to grant preferential market access to nations associated with IUU fishing or severe labour violations, and says the autonomous tariff quota instrument should be used only where EU seafood supply is insufficient and never for IUU products.
  12. Encourages member states to improve routine and timely information sharing, including on rejected consignments, and stresses that multilateral catch documentation schemes agreed by regional fisheries management organisations improve traceability.

Who is affected

  • Member states: asked to fund and staff import controls, prepare CATCH IT, reinforce controls and apply dissuasive sanctions.
  • The Commission: asked to support national authorities, harmonise controls, staff CATCH IT and DG MARE, and withhold preferential access.
  • Non-EU countries: the report says no preferential market access for nations linked to IUU fishing or severe labour violations.
  • Seafood importers and economic operators: affected by harmonised import controls, catch certificate checks and CATCH IT interoperability.

Figures and deadlines

  • around 73 000 vessels in the EU fishing fleet
  • almost 70 % of seafood consumed in the EU is imported, representing 34 % of total world trade in value
  • 124 000 fishers employed directly in the EU fishing sector
  • EUR 6.3 billion in annual revenue generated by the EU fishing sector
  • Sustainable Development Goal target 14.4 was to end IUU fishing by 2020
  • four third countries currently have a red card and eight have a yellow card
  • EUR 580 million from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund earmarked for monitoring, control and enforcement
  • CATCH IT to be fully familiar to national authorities within two years from the date of application of Article 4 of the revised Fisheries Control Regulation