The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) confirms that a Control Plan to enable the derogation of weighing of fishery products after transport in Ireland has now been submitted to the European Commission with a view to achieving permanent approval. Subject to approval by the European Commission, the Control Plan would be adopted by Ireland and will become effective from the 1st May 2022.
The SFPA has been working intensively to move from interim arrangements to develop a fair and effective permanent Control Plan. The SFPA’s objective is to secure approval for a Control Plan that balances the requirements of the industry whilst also enabling meaningful control to manage real noncompliance risks.
The SFPA believes the Control Plan it has submitted addresses significant EU Commission concerns surrounding Ireland’s control measures and the risk of non-compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy, particularly in pelagic bulk landings to Ireland which resulted in the Commission’s revoking of Ireland’s weighing-after-transport Control Plan in 2021.
Since the 1st of January of this year, arising from an intensive SFPA effort in 2021, an interim Control Plan facilitating post-transport weighing of all fishery product landed to Ireland at specifically permitted establishments, has been in operation. The EU Commission’s approval of that interim plan is scheduled to expire on the 30th April 2022.
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Note to editors
The default provision of EU legislation is that all wild-caught fishery products have to be weighed immediately at transport by operators. There is potential for a derogation to allow weighing to take place after transport but that requires EU commission approval of a ‘Control Plan’ to manage compliance risks arising from that practice.