Certification of fishery products becomes fully digital

CATCH is coming. This will change from January 10, 2026

The European regulations concerning the tracking of fishery products are changing dramatically. From 10 January 2026, it will be mandatory to process all catch documentation digitally via CATCH, the new European system for catch certificates. During meetings between the NVWA and the Fish Federation in November, it became clear that this change has a major impact on importers, producers and exporters in the fish sector. Not only administratively, but also process-wise.

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What exactly is CATCH?

CATCH is the new European digital system for catch certificates. Where catch documentation used to be mostly processed outside the EU systems, this is now entirely within one digital framework.

In concrete terms, this means:

• Catch documentation must be entered digitally
• Certification no longer expires on paper
• Multiple parties must actively act in CATCH

Many companies have now registered, but registration alone is not enough. The system requires structural preparation and new working arrangements.

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What will change in practice?

As of 10 January 2026, the following obligations apply:

• Digital entry of all catch documentation via CATCH
• Approval of export catch certificates by skippers and/or catch permit holders, including for EU fish
• Confirmation of processing statements by producers in CATCH
• Stricter requirements for data completeness and consistency

This explicitly shifts part of the responsibility to the chain itself. Not only importers or forwarders, but also skippers and producers will play an active role. This ensures more administration, coordination between parties and less room for errors or corrections afterwards.

The changes are not limited to CATCH and the NVWA. Since 10 January, Customs has also changed its working method and declaration structure.

This means:

• New conditions for filing customs declarations
• Additional information that must be provided
• Connection between Catch documentation and customs declaration is becoming more important

For many companies, this means a double switch: new catch documentation and a renewed customs approach.

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How we deal with this

Flevo Trade Service has been preparing for these changes for a long time. By actively participating in meetings of the NVWA and the Fishing Federation and translating the regulations into practice early, the processes are designed to this end.

That means:

• Insight into how CATCH works within existing import and export flows
• Coordination between catch documentation and customs declarations
• Assistance with the transition to digital certification
• Preparing for additional checks and data requirements

We are also working towards being able to draw up and supervise catch certificates themselves, so that companies do not have to work with separate links.

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Are you ready for CATCH?

Many companies are now noticing that CATCH is more than “another new system”. After all, it requires new agreements, clear responsibilities and a well-organized administration. Do you notice that these changes are having more impact than expected? Or is your company stuck in the new documentation or declaration procedures? Then it is wise not to respond to this only when a shipment crashes. Feel free to get in touch. Flevo Trade Service thinks along and helps you set up CATCH within your processes in a workable way.