[Publication] Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing: The EU carding system

Background
The IUU Regulation is a pillar of the EU fisheries control framework, designed to prevent the access of IUU-caught products to the EU market. One of its main components is a catch certification scheme that aims to ensure the traceability of all marine fishery products imported in the EU, and requires the exporting states to certify that fish was harvested legally. The scheme is based on the assumption that the exporting flag state has an effective control system, which can guarantee the legality of the catch. If this is not the case, the carding system offers a step-by-step procedure to deal with non-cooperating countries. 0F1
Procedure
The carding system centres around bilateral discussions with non-EU countries that fail to discharge their duties under international law to take action against IUU fishing. As a first step, the European Commission evaluates information on potential non-compliance and initiates an informal ‘IUU dialogue’ with the country concerned. If serious problems are detected, the Commission can provide guidance on the necessary reforms. To date, more than 60 countries have been involved in such dialogues, which in most cases resulted in improved fisheries governance and strengthened control in those countries. Neither the countries participating in this dialogue nor the content of the discussions are made public, as the Commission argues that it has to act in a spirit of trust and confidentiality.