EU IUU Catch Certification

in the region
 Big  Picture
• The  requirement  has  been  
going  for  over  3  years
• It  has  been  demonised  and  
sanc9fied  with  not  much  
background  research  so  far.
• Last  week  the  EU  parliament  
released  officially  an  
independent  study  (250  pages)  
they  have  commissioned,  on  
the  effec9veness  of  compliance  
of  fishery  imports  to  EU  
legisla9on  (both  Health  and  IUU  
CCS)  
 Big  Picture
• The  parliament  has  much  more  
“teeth”  since  the  Lisbon  Treaty
• The  report  has  provided:  
• 11  recommenda1on  to  DG  SANCO  in  
regards  the  Health  Cer1fica1on  side
• 23  to  DG  MARE  in  regard  the  EU  CCS  
side  
• It  is  brutally  cri9cal  of  DG  
MARE’s  lack  of  transparency  and    
collabora9on  (with  everyone!)
• Not  only  in  regards  the  decisions  
afflic9ng  3rd  countries,  but  in  
regards  their  handling  of  EU  
Member  Countries  non  
compliances
 Big  Picture
• The  study  is  very  well  researched  and  documented.
• The  situa9on  in  the  Pacific  are  men9on  in  various  points  stages  (in  a  
very  unbiased  manner)
• ...The  decisions  of  the  European  Commission  to  prohibit  imports  from  a  third  
country  based  on  ar<cle  53  of  Regula<on  No  178/2002  some<mes  seems  arbitrary,  
the  case  of  Fiji  delis/ng  in  2008  being  an  example.
• ...  On  April  2013  several  no<fica<ons  were  s<ll  pending,  par/cularly  for  Pacific  
Island  States.  According  to  the  wording  of  the  EU  IUU  Regula<on  it  would  seem  
that  the  acceptance  of  the  no<fica<on  is  automa<c  and  cannot  be  refused  if  the  
informa<on  requested  in  Ar<cle  20  is  provided.  It  is  not  very  clear  on  which  
grounds  the  EC  is  currently  basing  the  acceptance  or  not  of  the  no<fica<on.  This  
whole  procedure  lacks  transparency....
• ...In  the  Pacific  overall,  the  situa/on  has  greatly  improved  thanks  to  regional  
coopera/on  through  the  Fisheries  Forum  Agency,  the  Nauru  Agreement  for  purse  
seine  fisheries,  the  Niue  Treaty  on  coopera<on  in  MCS  and  others,  and  observer  
programmes  under  the  auspices  of  the  WCPFC...
 Where  we  are  at?
• The  report  explain  quite  well  how  “tuna  laundering”  works
120  t

The  flag  state  usually  only  provides  a  

copy  of  the  catch  cer1ficate  
3rd Country fishing
Operators  get  Photocopies  of  the  
Broker buys catch with
vessel makes catch Catch certificate applied for
and validated by flag state Catch Certificate
original  cer1ficate

40  t
40  t 40  t
Here  IUU  fish  could  be  introduced  into  
the  system  as  the  full  weight  of  fish  could  
be  sold  to  the  factory  by  the  broker  or  the  
120  t 120  t 120  t
factory  could  introduce  uncer1fied  fish  
and  process  it  under  the  excess  on  the  
80  t 80  t
copy  cer1ficate  received.
80  t

Without  an  electronic  system  it  is  

impossible  to  check  whether  the  catch  
cer1ficate  is  being  reused  for  too  many  
consignments

There  is  no  tally  on  the  cer1ficate  for  the  

120  t + (3x80)  240  t = 360  t amount  used  and  the  amount  received.
What  is  going  to  happen?
• The  EU  IUU  CCS  system  may  
(hopefully)  get  be[er,  but  is  not  
gonna  go  away.
• Other  countries  are  working  on  
their  own,  with  the  aim  to  make  
it  compa9ble  with  Port  State  
Measures  Agreement  (PSMA)
• The  US  is  evalua1ng  the  Interna<onal  
Fisheries  Stewardship  and  Enforcement  
Act,  and  the  Pirate  Fishing  Elimina<on  
Act.  PSMA  currently  awaits  
considera1on  by  the  Senate  Foreign  
Rela1ons  CommiSee.
• WWF  is  developing  legisla<on  
proposals  for  the  US  and  Japan.
• So...  Its  here  to  stay  and  expand
Pacific  Scenarios? Pacific  Island  Processed  

EU  Catch  Cer1ficate  by  the  Flag  state

Thailand

Pacific  Island  
Caught  

EU  Catch  Cer1ficate   Annex  IV  of  the  Cer1ficate  

validated  by  flag  state validated  by  Thailand

Non  Processing  statement  validated  by  NFA

Foreign   PNG   PNG

Caught Processor Exporter
EU  Catch  Cer1ficate   Annex  IV  of  the  Cer1ficate  
validated  by  flag  state validated  by  NFA

Foreign  
Caught

EU  Catch  Cer1ficate   Transshipment  signed Annex  IV  of  the  Cer1ficate  

validated  by  flag  state validated  by  Thailand

or  we  have  a  WCPFC  CDS  recogniced  by  the  EU  

 What  are  we  doing?
• DevFish  II  funded  the  IUU  NPOAs  for  
Fiji,  Solomon  Islands,  PFSM,  RMI  and  
Vanuatu
• Based  on  the  NPOAs  advice,  a  series  of  
MCS  and  EU  CC  SOPs  have  been  
developed:
• Port  Arrival  No1fica1on  (Risk  Based  RB)
• Arrival  and  Offloading  Inspec1on  (RB)
• Departure  Inspec1on  (RB)
• Processing  Establishments  (Mass  Balance  MB)
• Export  permits  (RB  and  MB)    
• CCS  Issuing  of  Catch  Cer1ficate
• CCS  Issuing  of  Processing  &  Non  Processing  
Statement
 What  are  we  doing?

• The  ini9al  SOPs  are  risk  categorised  based   LAC

on  a  FFA’s  Vessels  Compliance  Index  
• Port  Arrival  No1fica1on:  takes  care  of  all  the  
details,  cargo,  VMS  tracks,  etc.  defining  the  risk  
category  of  the  vessels  and  alloca1ng  a  Landing  
Authorisa<on  Code  -­‐  LAC.
• Arrival  and  Offloading  Inspec1on:  based  on  the  
arrival  no1fica1on  category  the  frequency  target  is  
established  (25%,  75%  or  100%)  and    the  depth    of  
inspec1on,  including  local  and  WCPFO  
requirements.
• Processing  Establishments:    establish  a  Mass  
Balance  exercise  (fish  declared  in,  fish  in  stock,  fish  
out)  and  LAC  tracing
• Export  permits:  Tracing  the  fish  to  be  exported  
back  to  the  LACs  and  then  IUU  CCS  (or  any  CDs)
 What  are  the  challenges?
• Plenty...  as  to  make  this  work!
LAC
• IT  and  Data  management:  the  whole  chain  need  to  
be  integrated  into  a  data  structure,  from  alloca1ng  
the  Landing  Authorisa<on  Code  -­‐  to  “discoun1ng”  
from  the  volumes  declared  in  func1on  off  exports,  
sales  including  processing  ra1os.  
• Personnel:  Number  and  capability  of  people  to  
operate  with  different  func1ons  but  in  
coordina1on.  
• Logis1cs  and  Systems  Approach:  all  this  need  to  be  
operated  systema1cally,  rou1nely  and  efficiently  
as  to  be  effec1ve.  
• Legal  framework  and  capabili1es:  na1onal  and  
regional  enforcement  power  to  support  all  steps  in  
the  process.
• Support:  from  everyone,  as  this  would  become  a  
full  flagged  trade  requirement  at  some  stage.
Sanitary Market Access
Conditions to China
Export  to  China  –  Generali1es
The  informa/on  presented  here  should  be  treated  as  a  guideline  only.  
All  official  dealings  should  be  conducted  via  official  channels  and  the  diploma/c  
representa/on  of  China  in  your  country.  

• Market  Access  to  China  has  raised  its  

profile  over  the  last  year,  par9cularly  
regarding  cer/fica/on.  As  the  
country  is  implemen9ng  a  range  of  
new  requirements.  
• Unfortunately,  many  of  these  new  
requirements  are  not  well  
understood,  both  outside  and  within  
China  itself.  
• Chinese  bureaucracy  is  already  an  
university  research  topic.
Export  to  China  –  Generali1es
• Approximately  10  different  
government  departments  and  
ministries  monitor  food  safety  in  
China.  
• No  single  agency  is  responsible  for  
all  food  safety  regula9ons  and  
enforcement,  and  the  du9es  oben  
overlap.  
• There  are  also  local  and  regional  
food  safety  agencies,  but  there  is  
no  clear  hierarchy  of  agencies  at  
the  local  or  na9onal  levels.  
• And,  they  are  soooo  benchmarking  
the  EU  model...
Seafood  Exports  Requirements
Two key organisations:
• AQSIQ - General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection,
and Quarantine.
• Authorises Countries (but is not clear how)
• Registration of Exporters and Importers
• Sets National Levels of Contaminants in Food
• Defines Import Certificates models
• Defines other standards such as Packing and Labeling

• CNCA - Certification and Accreditation Administration of the

People’s Republic of China.
• Registration of Premises by the CA of the Exporting Country
• Factory Vessels (FV), Freezing Vessels and carriers (ZV), Processing Premises
(PP): including fish oil for human consumption and all aquaculture products,
Cold Stores (CS for all fish and fishery products (including all aquaculture
products).
Suggested  Procedures
Logo$of$CA,$Country,$etc.$
$
RegistraGon  of  Country  and  Premises: To:$
Certification+and+Accreditation+Administration+of+the+
• The  CA  of  the  expor1ng  country  is   People’s+Republic+of+China+
$
required  to  complete  a  conformity   _____$(Name$of$Competent$authority)$communicate$the$
statement  and  fax  it  to  the  CNCA. following$amendments$to$the$list$of$approved$
establishments$for$export$to$China$(Fishery$Products):$
$
• The  specific  formats  for  the   Number$of$additions:$$$

statement,  plus  those  for  addi1ons,   Number$of$modifications:$$$$

Number$of$deletions:$$$$
modifica1ons  and  dele1ons  of   $

premises  are  in  a  standardised  excel   We$declare$the$establishments$are$in$compliance$with$the$

relative$sanitary$requirements$of$China$and$_______$
format,  can  be  downloaded  from  hSp:// (country$or$region$that$exports$fishery$products$to$China),$
and$request$CNCA$to$update$the$list.$
www.cnca.gov.cn/rjwzcjgb/xgxz/jkspgwscqyzcxgxz/
$
06/615982.shtml  
Thank$you$for$your$cooperation.$

• Once  completed  by  the  CA,  the   $

Name$of$Competent$authority$and$the$official$Stamp:$
competed  files  need  to  be  emailed  to:   ___________$
$
fishery@cnca.gov.cn       Date:$__________$$
$
 Suggested  Procedures
CerGficaGon
• Cer1fica1on  is  specifically  covered  in   Health Certificate
For fish and fishery products intended for export from
The People’s Republic of China
to

AQSIQ  Decree  No.  135.  It  sets  the   Num.Ref:

standard  cer1ficate  to  be  used  by   I. Information of competent authority:

Country of export
expor1ng  countries. Country of production:
Competent authority

• Is  important  to  understand  that,  the  

Department of certificate
issuance
II Identification of the fishery products

officers  sign  that:   Commodity name

Scientific name
Number of packages

• The  products  were  inspected  and   III.

Net Weight
Origin of the fishery products
quaran<ned  by  the  CA  and  pathogenic   Production Place
Processing Type1
bacteria,  harmful  substances  and  foreign   Production Mode
Aquacultured Ye No Wild Caught Yes No
substances  regulated  in  the  P.R.  China   Aquaculture area Catch Area

were  not  found. Name & Number of Vessel for the catch

• The  products  meet  veterinary  sanitary   Production and

processing enterprise name and registration
requirements  and  are  fit  for  human   number
Production Date

consump<on.
Suggested  Procedures
Maximum  Levels  of  Contaminants  
Parameter'! Product'! Chinese'legislation'! EU'legislation'!
0.5!mg/kg!! 0.3!mg/Kg!fish!
Lead!! Fish!! 1.0!mg/kg!Mollusks!&!! 1!mg/Kg!cephalopods!!
cephalopods! 1.5!mg/Kg!Mollusks!!
!0.050!mg/Kg!Most!fish!!
0.1!mg/Kg!Tunas,!mackerels,!
sardines!!
0.1!mg/Kg!! 0.2!mg/Kg!bullet!tuna!!
Cadmium!!! Fish!!
0.2!mg/Kg!!(canned!fish)! 0.30!mg/Kg!anchovy,!swordfish!!
0.50!mg/Kg!crustaceans!!
1.0!mg/Kg!mollusk!and!
cephalopods!!
1!mg/kg!(Predatory!fish)!!! 1!ppm!for!tuna!and!swordfish!!
Mercury! Fish!
0.5!mg/kg(!non!predatory)! 0.5!ppm!for!most!other!fish!
Iron!! Preserved!products!! 70!mg/Kg!! Not!regulated!
Copper!! Aquatic!products!! 50!mg/Kg!! 60!mg/kg!(oysters)!!
Zinc!! Fish!! 50!mg/Kg!! Not!regulated!
Tin!! Canned!foods! 50!mg/Kg!! 200!mg/Kg!!!
Chromium!! Fish!and!crustaceans! 2.0!mg/Kg!! Not!regulated!
Selenium!! Fish!! 1.0!mg/Kg!! Not!regulated!
0.5!mg/Kg!(live!weight)!!
Inorganic!Arsenic!! Fish!and!crustaceans! Not!regulated!!
1.0!mg/Kg!(dry!weight)!!
Fluor!! Fresh!water!fish!! 2.0!mg/Kg!! Not!regulated!
Suggested  Procedures
Exporter/Trader  RegistraGon
• While  in  force  since  the  1  October  
2012,  this  requirement  has  been  
slowly  enforced.  It  requires  all  
exporters/traders  of  food  products,  
including  seafood,  to  China  to  be  
registered.    
• This  registra1on  is  purely  
administra1ve  and  does  not  require  
the  exporter/trader  to  nominate  the  
source  manufacturing  premises  or  
vessels  
• Exporter/trade  registra1on  is  
conducted  through  an  on-­‐line  system  
which  is  available  at:  hSp://ire.eciq.cn  
Recommenda1ons
For  CAs
• Given  there  does  not  appear  to  be  a  published  process  explaining  
how  an  expor1ng  country  requests  authorised  status,  it  is  advisable  
that  the  CA  follows  the  procedure  described  under  Registra<on  of  
Country  and  Premises  of  the  FFA  brief,  and  by  default  register  
themselves  as  a  “authorised”  country.
• CAs  should  follow  the  specific  health  requirements  as  presented  in  
Maximum  Levels  of  Contaminants  in  Food  from  the  FFA  brief.    
• It  is  up  to  individual  CAs  to  determine  how  they  intend  to  verify  
seafood  exports  are  within  the  prescribed  limits.    The  simplest  path  is  
to  asks  exporters  to  supply  proof.
• For  cer1fica1on,  use  the  official  model  provided  with  your  CA  details  
on  it.
Recommenda1ons
For  CAs
• In  regards  the  emission  of  official  cer1ficates  for  products  landed  in  
your  country  by  foreign  vessels  not  under  your  control:
• In  theory,  the  CA  of  the  flag  state  is  in  charge  of  its  vessels,  and  not  
you  as  the  port  state  of  the  unloading  and/or  export.  
• The  Chinese  legisla1on  appears  to  be  silent  in  this  regard,  so  
officials  signing  cer1ficates  should  make  sure  the  best  possible  
guarantees  are  obtained  from  the  Flag  State  CA  or  the  exporters,  in  
regard  to  mee1ng  the  requirements  under  Maximum  Levels  of  
Contaminants  in  Food  prior  to  signing.
• It  is  signing  officers  head  on  the  line  if  things  go  wrong...
Recommenda1ons

For  Exporters  and  Processors

• Make  sure  that  your  vessels,  coolstores  and  processing  
establishments  are  in  the  lists  presented  by  the  CA  under  the  
procedures  listed  in  the  Registra<on  of  Country  and  Premises  of  the  
FFA  brief
• For  exporters,  it  is  advisable  that  they  follow  the  procedure  described  
under  Exporter/Trader  Registra<on  of  the  FFA  brief.  
• Provide  the  CA  evidence  that  the  products  intended  to  be  exported,  
comply  with  Specific  health  requirements  as  presented  in  Maximum  
Levels  of  Contaminants  in  Food  of  the  FFA  brief.

謝謝你 - 祝你好運 Thanks  -­‐  good  luck