All fishery products, with the exception of farmed fish and scallops which are imported into Great Britain must be accompanied by a catch certificate. As of January 2021, this now includes fishery products of EU origin.
Fish caught and imported into the UK must have a validated catch certificate to show the catch is legal. The catch certificate must be validated by the relevant authority in the flag state of the catching vessel - the country where the vessel is registered.
The catch certificate must remain with the fish throughout the supply chain and is required on entry to the UK. Imports without a catch certificate cannot enter the UK.
Original copies of your catch certificates can also be uploaded to IPAFFS and attached to you CHED-P record.
You can also generate pre-notifications of such consignments via PHILIS DES. When you do this, we will receive a notification of the intended arrival of the consignment. Please note that a CHED-P must still be generated.
The catch certificate is established in Annex II of Council Regulation 1005/2008 (as amended). This is the main piece of European law that implements controls on fishing.
EC regulations were put into law in England by The Sea Fishing (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing) Order 2009.
The regulation applies to fishery products that are covered by 1603, 1604 and 1605 of the Customs Trade Tariff. Freshwater and farmed (aquaculture) fish are all out of scope.
