Fish, Trace, Ship – Act now! and get on board for seafood export changes
The UK’s Fisheries Administrations have today (3 Sept) launched the Fish Trace Ship campaign to support the UK’s seafood supply chain to make ready for major changes in how we export to EU businesses from 10 January 2026.
The EU is set to update its requirements for Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing regulations and so everyone involved in the UK’s seafood supply to the EU now has a role to play in ensuring our exports can continue to flow smoothly once the changes come in to effect on 10 January next year.
The Fish, Trace, Ship campaign, led by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), will make clear what action will need to be taken by each sector of the supply chain, from fishers and merchants through to processors and exporters, to be ready for these imminent changes.
Nick Greenwood, MMO’s Head of Marine Protection and Operations Services, said:
Everyone involved in catching, buying, processing and selling fish and seafood destined for EU markets needs to act early to adopt the changes we’re making to the UK Fish Export Service so our fish and seafood products can continue to be exported.
Without the additional information needed for the Fish Export Service from January 2026, you will not be able to export your produce because of the EU’s new requirements.
We want to work with industry to make sure that no business is unprepared for the changes. Adapting early will make for a smoother transition.
So, our new Fish, Trace, Ship campaign will support everyone to adapt to the new requirements and changes to the Fish Exports Service.
We’re urging the UK’s fish and seafood industry to make use of the resources we’ll provide throughout our campaign, and to sign up for the online updates and engagement events we have planned.
MMO has set up a dedicated campaign site to provide an easy-to-access information resource as well as a source of latest news and educational guides.
The online content will be continually updated over the coming weeks and months so businesses are urged to sign up for updates to ensure they are always up to speed with developments.