NEW GUIDELINES REQUIRE IMPORTERS TO PROVIDE CONSIGNMENT-SPECIFIC PROCESSING STATEMENTS TO ENSURE ACCURACY AND COMPLIANCE.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has introduced stringent new requirements for fish importers following the discovery of widespread documentation discrepancies. The updated regulations mandate that importers provide processing statements specific to each consignment, aiming to enhance traceability and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. These changes are crucial for maintaining the integrity of the UK’s fish import system and ensuring compliance with international standards.

Requirement:

A processing statement/storage document should be issued for one consignment. If fish is imported at different times, then these imports should be considered as separate consignments and must have separate processing or storage documents. The total weight on the final processing statement or storage document should reflect the weight of each single consignment.

Processing/storage statements should be original documents (unless the fish has been processed/stored multiple times in which case it would have multiple documents, including a copy of the initial processing/storage statements and original documentation for the subsequent processing/storage). The total weight on the final processing statement or storage document should be reflected in a single consignment.

Legislation:

As per Article 14 of Council Regulation 1005/2008 (UK retained), “In order to import fishery products constituting one single consignment and which have been processed in a third country other than the flag, the importer shall submit to 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 in Annex IV”.

This statement should give an “exact description of the unprocessed and processed products and their respective quantities, 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 be accompanied by, 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 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”.

For further information on catch certification and the new requirements, importers are advised to consult the following resources:

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