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Illegal fishing: NGOs highlight gaps in import controls in the EU

by AI | 29.Oct 2025 | Europe in brief AI

Illegal fishing products are entering the European market due to insufficient import controls by certain member states, warns a coalition of NGOs.

On September 8, 2025, off the coast of the Bay of Somme, in northern France, crew members are unloading a net aboard the "Nicolas-Jeremy," which is pair trawling with the boat "Notre-Dame de Boulogne." (Photo: FRANÇOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP)

Paris – The European Union – a major importer of fish and seafood – has established a strict framework to combat so-called illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, a threat to ecosystems and a source of unfair competition, but controls remain insufficient, according to an analysis published on Wednesday.  

“The effectiveness of the rules (…) depends on their implementation and member states are not meeting their commitments,” explains Nikolas Evangelides from the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts, in a statement from the Coalition Against IUU Fishing (EU IUU Fishing Coalition).

The coalition analyzed, for the period 2020-2023, data that the Twenty-Seven transmit to the Commission.

Thus, while at least 5% of landings made by non-European vessels must be inspected, the Netherlands has never reached this minimum and Poland only exceeded it in 2020.

Another black point: the insufficient verification of “catch certificates” (documents guaranteeing that the products come from legal fishing by specifying their traceability). (October 29, 2025)