Report | February 5, 2018

The impact of the EU IUU Regulation on seafood trade flows – Highlights

How has the EU action against illegal fishing changed our seafood trade flows? And what do these trade patterns tell us?

Just over 10 years ago, it was estimated1 that 500,000 tonnes of illegally caught seafood products were entering our EU markets every year. An illicit activity valued at EUR 1.1 billion that was not only damaging local communities and businesses, but also depleting our pristine marine resources.

A new report shows that weaknesses in member state import controls and uneven standards could be providing a route for non-compliant products to enter the EU market. Most notably, the report identifies several examples of high-risk trade flows shifting among EU countries following the warning (yellow-carding) of certain exporting countries.