Posted on October, 29 2025

This report from the EU IUU Fishing Coalition, comprised of the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Oceana, The Nature Conservancy, The Pew Charitable Trusts and WWF EU, reveals that EU import controls and inadequate implementation of existing EU law by Member States may be allowing illegal fishing products to enter the EU market. 

The analysis, which examined the implementation of the EU IUU Fishing Regulation between 2020 and 2023, reveals that certain countries have consistently failed to carry out even the most basic checks on seafood imports. This leaves them at high risk of importing products associated with human and environmental crimes. Several Member States are neglecting to properly investigate seafood consignments from high-risk countries by continually failing to verify the catch certificates intended to prove fish have been legally caught. 

The report emphasises the importance of the European Commission holding Member States accountable by launching infringement procedures against those that persistently fail to fulfil their obligations.

Key figures:

• The EU is the world’s largest seafood importer, sourcing 69% of its seafood from outside the bloc. In 2023, imports from outside the EU were worth EUR 30.1 billion. It is estimated that one in five seafood products globally is linked to IUU fishing, which is often associated with environmental destruction and forced labour.
• Despite having the strongest rules on paper, Member States are failing to enforce them. Between 2020 and 2023, only 0.29% of the nearly 800,000 catch certificates received from non-EU countries were verified with flag states, and just 0.01% were refused.
• While major importers Italy and Portugal carried out almost no verification checks and refused almost no imports, Spain and Germany accounted for most of the stricter controls. The Netherlands, a key landing point for Russian vessels, inspected fewer than 4% of non-EU direct landings, falling short of the legal minimum of 5%.
• From 2026, the EU’s new digital Catch Certification System (CATCH) will be mandatory. While it will improve efficiency, it will be unable to address systemic failures such as weak verification, inspection and refusal processes. There is an urgent need for stronger enforcement by Member States and the European Commission.