As of 10 January 2026, CATCH has been launched, the new digital catch certificate designed to combat illegal fishing and help protect marine biodiversity.
Operating in real time and valid throughout the European Union, it is a fully fledged IT system for managing the EU catch certification scheme.
The main objective of CATCH is to streamline the catch certification process and all related procedures by offering a fully digital and paperless workflow. In this way, the exchange of data and information is facilitated, simplifying and speeding up administrative procedures.
CATCH ensures a centralised digital management system with the aim of identifying and prohibiting the import into the EU of fishery products obtained from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.
CATCH also offers operators and authorities from non-EU countries the possibility to create, validate and submit catch certificates and/or related documents.
CATCH is one of the key deliverables of the European Ocean Pact, adopted in June 2025, the strategy that brings together the European Union’s ocean-related policies and actions and creates a single, coordinated plan for ocean management.