The Sea Fisheries (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026

Made: 28th October 2026

Laid before Parliament: 29th October 2026

Coming into force: 26th November 2026

The Secretary of State in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 36 (1) (b) and (c) and (4) (g), (j) and (o) and 51 (1) of the Fisheries Act 2020¹ and in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 27 (1A) (a) and Article 28 (1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing², makes the following Regulations.

The Secretary of State has where necessary obtained the consent of the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland (“DAERA”) to the making of these Regulations in accordance with section 40 of the Fisheries Act 2020 and Article 28 (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008.

The Secretary of State has consulted the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers, DAERA and other such persons likely to be affected by the measures contained in these Regulations as the Secretary of State considers appropriate in accordance with section 41 (1) of the Fisheries Act 2020.

Citation, commencement and extent

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Sea Fisheries (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 and come into force on 26th November 2026.

• (2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, subject to paragraph (3) below.

• (3) Regulations 2, 3 and Schedules 1, 2 and 3 extend to England and Wales and Scotland.

Amendment to Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

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• (1) Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is amended as follows.

• (2) In Article 14 (indirect importation of fishery products) for paragraph 1 substitute—

(1) In order to import fishery products transported in the same form to the United Kingdom from a third country other than the flag state or the state in which processing takes place as referred to in paragraph 2, the importer must submit to the competent authorities of a fisheries administration: (a) the catch certificate(s) validated by the flag state and, if applicable, the endorsed statement referred to in paragraph 2, as follows: (i) the original of the catch certificates(s) and, if applicable, the original of the statement referred to in paragraph 2, of the fishery products concerned if the total consignment is exported; or (ii) a copy of the original catch certificate(s) and, if applicable, a copy of the statement referred to in paragraph 2 where only a part of the fishery products concerned in the consignment is exported; and (b) documented evidence that the fishery products did not undergo operations other than unloading, reloading or any operation designed to preserve them in good and genuine condition, and remained under the surveillance of the competent authorities in that third country which shall be provided by means of: (i) if the whole consignment related to a catch certificate and, if relevant, to the statement referred to in paragraph 2 is exported, the single transport document issued to cover the passage from the territory of the flag state or the state in which processing takes place through that third country: or (ii) if the original consignment related to a catch certificate and, if relevant, to the statement referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article is split, a document validated by the competent authorities of that third country, using the template set out in Annex V, which must: (a) give an exact description of the fishery products and the weight of the consignment exported, the dates of unloading and reloading of the fishery products and, where applicable, the names of the vessels or other means of transport used; and (b) indicate the name and approval number of the storage facility and the conditions under which the fishery products remained in that third country. (1A) Where the species concerned are subject to a catch documentation scheme adopted by a regional fisheries management organisation and recognised under Article 13, the documents referred to in paragraphs 1(a) and 1(b) may be replaced by the re-export certificate of that catch documentation scheme, provided that the third country has fulfilled its notification requirements accordingly.

• (3) In Article 14 (indirect importation of fishery products) for paragraph 2 substitute—

(2) In order to import fishery products constituting one single consignment and which have been processed in a third country, the importer shall submit to the competent authorities of a fisheries administration a statement established by the processing plant in that third country and endorsed by its competent authorities in accordance with the form set out in Annex IV: (a) giving an exact description of the unprocessed and processed products and their respective quantities; (b) indicating that the processed products have been processed in that third country from catches accompanied by catch certificate(s) validated by the flag state; and (c) accompanied by: (i) the original catch certificate(s) where the totality of the catches concerned has been used for the processing of the fishery products exported in a single consignment; or (ii) a copy of the original catch certificate(s) where part of the catches concerned has been used for the processing of the fishery products exported in a single consignment. (2A) Where the species concerned are subject to a catch documentation scheme adopted by a regional fisheries management organisation and recognised under Article 13, the statement may be replaced by the re-export certificate of that catch documentation scheme, provided that the third country of processing has fulfilled its notification requirements accordingly.

• (4) In Article 16 (submission and checks of catch certificates), after paragraph 1 insert—

(1A) The catch certificate as established in Article 12(4), together with the transport details as specified in Annex II, the statement of processing as established in Article 14(2) and any other information as required by Articles 12, 14 and 17 must be uploaded to the United Kingdom’s digital import systems.

• (5) For Annex II (catch and re-export certificate) substitute Annex II as set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

• (6) For Annex IV (statement under Article 14(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing) substitute Annex IV as set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

• (7) After Annex IV, insert the new Annex V as set out in Schedule 3 to these Regulations.

Transitional Provision

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Catch certificates and any other related documents which have been validated, endorsed or signed before 26th November 2026 in accordance with Articles 12, 14, 16 of, and Annexes II and IV to, Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 as applicable at the time of their validation, endorsement or signature, shall be accepted by the competent authority of a fisheries administration until 10th January 2028.

Amendment to Commission Regulation (EU) No 468/2010 establishing the EU list of vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

4

In Commission Regulation (EU) No 468/2010 establishing the EU list of vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing³ in the Annex for the table in Part B (vessels listed by regional fisheries management organisations) substitute the table as set out in Schedule 4 of these Regulations.

Amendment to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2239 specifying details of the landing obligation for certain demersal fisheries in North-Western waters for the period 2020-2021

5

In Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2239 specifying details of the landing obligation for certain demersal fisheries in North-Western waters for the period 2020-2021⁴ omit Article 10 (specific technical measures in the Irish Sea).

Schedule 1 — Annex II to Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing

Schedule 2 — Annex IV (Statement under Article 14(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing)

Schedule 3 — Annex V (template document under Article 14(1)(b)(ii) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 of 29 September 2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing)

Schedule 4 — Modification to Annex, United Kingdom Vessel list: substitution of table under Part B, vessels listed by regional fisheries management organisations

Signed

Stephen Morgan — Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State — Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs — 28th October 2026

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Explanatory Note

These Regulations make amendments to assimilated law in the field of sea fisheries. They also make a transitional provision.

Regulation 2 makes amendments to Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing acts as a measure to prevent illegally caught seafood entering the UK market.

Regulation 2(2) amends Article 14 to introduce a new requirement for the submission of a non-manipulation document.

Regulation 2(3) amends Article 14 to provide that a processing statement is required where fish are processed after landing, including if the fish were processed in the same country as the flag state of the catching vessel.

Regulation 2(4) amends Article 16 to provide that relevant catch documentation must be uploaded onto the UK’s digital system by UK importers.

Regulation 2(5) replaces Annex II with an updated catch certificate template.

Regulation 2(6) replaces Annex IV with a updated processing statement template.

Regulation 2(7) inserts a new Annex V which provides a non-manipulation document template.

Regulation 3 makes a transitional provision under which any catch certificates and any other related documents that have been validated, endorsed or signed in accordance with the relevant provisions under Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, as applicable at the time of their validation, endorsement or signature, are valid until 10 January 2028.

Regulation 4 amends Commission Regulation (EU) No 468/2010 establishing the EU list of vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing to replace the table set out in Part B of the Annex which provides the United Kingdom list of vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing that have been listed by regional fisheries management organisations. This replacement includes both the addition and removal of vessels.

Regulation 5 amends Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2239 specifying details of the landing obligation for certain demersal fisheries in North-Western waters for the period 2020-2021 increases gear selectivity and aims to reduce unwanted catches in the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and West of Scotland, by omitting the entirety of Article 10.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the public, private or voluntary sector is foreseen.

Footnotes