An EU-wide digital database of fish catches should be established to combat illegal fishing, a new report has concluded.

The report, drafted by the Environmental Justice Foundation, Oceana, The Pew Charitable Trusts and WWF, is a review of the ‘EU’s Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Regulations’.

The in-depth analysis finds that the 2010 regulations proved to be “a powerful tool in preventing illegally caught fish from entering the EU”. Implementation has also driven positive change in fisheries management in third countries, where more than 60 percent of the fish products consumed in the EU originate. However, some member states must do more to fully apply the law, the report says.

The report calls for more robust implementation of regulations and standards to ensure that no illegal fish enter the European market.

In a series of recommendations the report calls for the establishment of a standardised EU-wide approach to risk analysis, and for this to be effectively applied in the detection of high-risk fish consignments.

Until this is done, member states should continue to apply rigorous, national-level risk analyses for the verification and inspection of consignments.

The report also calls for sufficient capacity and resources to be assigned by member states to ensure effective change.

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