Land shipments of fish to document product origin in EU

Land shipments of fish into the EU will soon have to document where the fish originates from.

This is new EU regulation will come into force on January 1, 2010.

The new regulation will require that all fish being exported to an EU country must be able to be traced back to its place of origin.

In addition to the regulation, a catch certificate must be produced for each consignment documenting where the fish comes from.

The new rule is designed to hinder the importation of illegally caught fish into the EU.

Nofima Marked scientist Kine Mari Karlsen said the critical points concerning traceability occur when the fish is split up or mixed.

Karlsen is participating in a project to find out how Norwegian stockfish producers will deal with the new rules.

Norway is still negotiating with the EU about how detailed the new requirements will be.

The new export regulations will apply to all fish species with the exception of farmed fish, freshwater fish and shellfish/molluscs.