Alaska seafood groups call EU catch-tracking system a trade barrier

Alaska seafood companies say a European Union tracking rule stranded nearly 16,000 metric tons of legally caught fish in the Netherlands in May, costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars. Three Alaska seafood organizations called the system a non-tariff trade barrier, a rule that restricts imports without a tax, in a white paper published Thursday.

The Pacific Seafood Processors Association, the At-sea Processors Association and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the state's official seafood marketing organization, released the paper, titled "Advancing EU Efforts to Combat IUU Fishing: Why CATCH Needs Reforms," on Thursday. IUU is illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The National Seafood Association, a national trade group, joined the call without co-authoring. The groups back the EU's goal of fighting illegal fishing but say that without changes, the system known as CATCH "functions as a non-tariff barrier that raises costs, delays lawful shipments, discourages full utilization, disadvantages smaller vessels and processors."

Alaska's seafood exports to the EU averaged $617 million and 160,198 metric tons a year from 2020 through 2024. The EU has been Alaska's largest direct trading partner by value since 2022.

CATCH became mandatory for EU importers and member state authorities on Jan. 10, 2026. It requires electronic submission of catch certificates and related documents at least three working days before a shipment arrives.

The largest case was the Netherlands shipment in May. Dutch authorities restricted about 7,810 tons aboard the M/V Regal Bay and held 7,780 tons aboard the M/V Italia Stream, refusing entry before a scheduled May 23 docking. Twelve U.S. companies had product aboard the two vessels. The delays cost the Alaska logistics company that operated them hundreds of thousands of dollars. In Denmark, about 600 metric tons in 32 containers have been held since late April amid conflicting guidance on CATCH documentation. Authorities released 125 tons by Sept. 1, but 475 tons remain in bonded cold storage.

U.S. exporters later won permission to keep using the U.S. Legal Harvest Certificate through Nov. 30, 2026.

The industry's argument centers on scale. CATCH traces each harvest vessel's contribution to each finished product. Alaska's salmon fishery runs 7,500 small vessels delivering 250,000 metric tons over three months, often consolidated on tenders that take deliveries from more than 100 boats in a single offload. Pollock lands three billion pounds a year, split into fillets, successive grades of surimi, the processed fish paste, meal and oil. One representative shipment analyzed by the industry would need roughly 3,000 individual product records.

The paper asks the EU to allow reporting by processing facility rather than by vessel, create an alternative pathway for countries with effective domestic management, standardize data formats and bulk uploads, run fishery-by-fishery pilot tests, and extend the implementation timeline.

"The objective should be better detection of illegal seafood, not simply more paperwork for legal seafood," said Matt Tinning, chief executive of the At-sea Processors Association.

The European Commission says the system requires flag states to certify that imported fish is not from illegal fishing, and that digital traceability strengthens supply-chain control. EU seafood imports from the U.S. totaled $1.05 billion in 2025, up from $877 million in 2024. The industry's April situation report estimated that more than $300 million in Pacific salmon and fish oil would be halted under the rules as then written.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative opened docket USTR-2026-0498 on Sept. 14 for the 2027 National Trade Estimate Report. Comments close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Oct. 29 on Regulations.gov. NOAA Fisheries holds a trade and market access event in Seattle on Oct. 21, with EU export requirements on the agenda.