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The EU can scrutinize imports and restrict access to its market when fishery products are linked to illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing. Its digital CATCH system strengthens the paperwork and traceability behind those checks. Neither measure, however, sets catch limits for high-seas squid or creates a squid-specific management regime. Managing fishing at sea also depends on oversight by the vessels’ flag states and coordinated rules through regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs).
What does “unregulated” squid fishing mean?
“IUU fishing” groups three related but distinct categories, as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) explains:
- Illegal fishing violates applicable laws or conservation measures, such as fishing without required authorization.
- Unreported fishing is not reported, or is misreported, contrary to applicable rules.
- Unregulated fishing takes place where applicable conservation or management measures are absent, or where fishing is conducted in a way that does not comply with relevant responsibilities or measures.
Unregulated does not automatically mean illegal: if no applicable catch-management rule exists for a fishery or area, the absence of that rule is itself the problem. FAO also cautions that IUU estimates are difficult to compare because data quality and quantity differ among fisheries. A global IUU estimate should not be presented as a squid-specific measurement.
Why are some high-seas squid fisheries difficult to manage?
Fishing can move beyond coastal waters
Some squid stocks cross jurisdictional boundaries. A fishery may operate in coastal waters governed by one authority and then continue on the high seas, where the applicable management framework can be different. Pew’s January 2026 briefing describes gaps affecting some squid fisheries, particularly in international waters and in some RFMO areas. It points to limited catch limits, data-sharing, stock assessments, monitoring and enforcement. These are not conditions established for every squid species or ocean region.
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Effort has increased, according to one cited study
Pew reports that Katherine L. Seto and co-authors’ 2023 Science Advances study, “Fishing Through the Cracks: The Unregulated Nature of Global Squid Fisheries,” estimated squid-fishing effort rose 68% between 2017 and 2020, with more than 85% of that effort occurring in unregulated areas. Those figures describe the study’s estimates for that period; they are not a current annual count or a measurement of all squid fisheries.
Why the gaps matter beyond squid catches
Pew notes that squid are prey for predators and are commercially important themselves, including in food webs involving tuna and salmon. Its analysis argues that weak management can make it harder to understand ecosystem effects, assess sustainability, establish product provenance and protect coastal fisheries. Those concerns depend on the species, location and fishery; the briefing does not establish one uniform impact across all squid stocks.
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What can EU IUU rules do?
The European Commission says the EU IUU Regulation entered into force on 1 January 2010. It works through several levers, principally catch certification and cooperation with non-EU countries. The Commission also maintains an EU IUU vessel list and a process for warning states and identifying non-cooperating countries. Products from countries listed as non-cooperating can be excluded from the EU market. The rules also apply to EU operators fishing anywhere in the world, including under a non-EU flag.
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What changes with CATCH?
CATCH is the EU’s digital system for submitting and checking catch certificates. According to the European Commission’s current IUU overview, its use became mandatory for EU operators and authorities handling imports of fishery products on 10 January 2026. This is a digital documentation and import-control change: it gives authorities a shared system for handling catch certificates and supports traceability checks.
The Commission has not described CATCH as a squid quota or as a new body that manages high-seas squid stocks. CATCH can help identify suspect documentation or products and support market controls; it does not by itself determine how many squid may be caught, monitor every vessel at sea or close gaps in international management.
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In an 18 April 2024 announcement about the Commission’s report on IUU-fishing achievements from 2020 to 2023, then-Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said: “CATCH will contribute to a better protection of the EU market and its consumers against imported products obtained from IUU fishing. This IT system has a potential to become a reference point as a digital environment for catch documentation schemes and international trade flows of fishery products thanks to its web-based approach and considerable interoperability opportunities.” The statement describes the system’s documentation and market-protection role, not squid-specific management at sea.
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Which actors are needed to govern fishing at sea?
| Actor or tool | What it can address | What it cannot do alone |
|---|---|---|
| EU import controls and CATCH | Catch certificates, documentation checks and access to the EU market for covered imports. | Set high-seas squid catch limits or manage a stock across its range. |
| Flag states | Oversight of vessels flying their flags, including meeting applicable international responsibilities. | Coordinate conservation rules among all states fishing a shared stock without cooperation. |
| Port states | Checks related to vessels and fishery products seeking port access or landing permission. | Replace at-sea monitoring or shared stock-management measures. |
| RFMOs | Coordinate regional conservation and management measures among members for fisheries within their remit. | Provide effective squid management where a stock or fishery is outside their coverage, or where measures and implementation are insufficient. |
The Commission’s control framework and RFMO measures form part of the broader EU approach, but coverage depends on the relevant species, fleets, ocean area and rules in force. A regime can exist yet still have shortcomings in monitoring, data-sharing or the strength of its management measures.
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What would stronger squid management require?
Pew recommends steps aimed at the gaps it identifies; these are recommendations, not adopted EU policy:
- Flag states should meet their oversight duties for vessels under their flags.
- Port states should account for unregulated fishing when deciding whether to permit landings.
- RFMO members should invest in stock assessments and information-sharing.
- RFMOs should develop harvest strategies for squid species.
These steps address different parts of the problem. Better catch documentation helps establish what a shipment claims to be and where it came from. Vessel oversight and monitoring help establish what happened at sea. Stock assessments and harvest strategies provide a basis for deciding how fishing should be managed over time. An EU market check can support enforcement, but effective controls over fishing itself require the appropriate authorities and rules across the fishery’s range.
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