Guidance

Upload guidance

Updated 3 September 2025

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-iuu-regulation-2026-changes-guidance/upload-guidance

From 10 January 2026, start date, high seas area, EEZ, RFMO and gear type fields will be mandatory under new EU regulations.

1. General

1.1 Upload Process

  • The steps of the upload process are as follows:

    1. Upload products and landings - Upload the CSV file containing the product IDs and landings.
    2. Fix errors (if required)- If there are multiple errors, you can clear the upload amend the file, and reupload.
    3. Review and correct - The steps will take you back to the Add landings page where you can add any missing landings manually or correct any mistakes you find.

  • You can repeat this process to upload multiple CSV files.

1.2 Limitations

  • The maximum number of rows that can be uploaded per catch certificate is 100.
  • You can only upload products that have been saved in your product favourites, accessible from the main navigation.
  • If your export contains multiple products from the same landing, the landing will need to be repeated for each product

1.3 Product IDs

  • Product IDs are created when a  product favourites  is saved.
  • They are unique to each user and are used to speed up the process of uploading products.
  • Product IDs are only used internally by the FES service and have no relevance to the final catch certificate.

2. CSV file

2.1 File type

  • The upload file must be a CSV file (CSV stands for Comma Separated Values).
  • CSV files can be generated by exporting from spreadsheets or other software with an export feature.

2.2 Data structure

  • Do not include a header row.
  • Each row must have the following structure:

Product ID,Date landed,Catch area,Vessel PLN,Export weight

For example: PRD123,01/01/2021,FAO27,PH1100,50.95

  • Only use commas to separate fields (known as ‘delimiters’).
  • You are advised to group the rows together in a way that makes it easy for you to check the upload. For example, you could group landings by product or by vessel.
  • If you are including optional fields, all optional fields must be included and they must appear in the following positions in the structure:

Product ID, Start date, Date landed, Catch area, High Seas area, EEZ, RFMO, Vessel PLN, Gear type, Export weight

For example: PRD123,01/01/2021,01/01/2021,FAO27,Yes,GBR,IOTC,PH1100,PS,50.95

  • Any optional fields can be left blank:

Product ID, Start date, Date landed, Catch area, High Seas area, EEZ, RFMO, Vessel PLN, Gear type, Export weight

For example: PRD123,,01/01/2021,FAO27,,,,PH1100,,50.95

2.3 Validation

  • Uploaded products and landings will be subjected to the same validation as those entered manually.
  • If some rows fail to upload and you want to add them later manually, you should make a note of them before continuing.

3. Data requirements

3.1 Product ID

The product ID must refer to a product saved in your product favourites.

Example: PRD123

3.2 Start date (optional)

  • Field can be left blank until 10th Jan 2026
  • Start dates must be real dates in the format ‘dd/mm/yyyy’.
  • Dates cannot be more than 7 days in the future.
  • Start dates must not be after the landed dates.

Example: 01/01/2021

3.3 Date landed

  • Landing dates must be real dates in the format ‘dd/mm/yyyy’.
  • Dates cannot be more than 7 days in the future.

Example: 01/01/2021

3.4 Catch Area

  • The catch area must be a FAO major fishing area.
  • A list of the major fishing areas is available from:www.fao.org

Example: FAO27

3.5 High Seas Area (optional)

  • Field can be left blank until 10th Jan 2026
  • To indicate if a catch was made in high seas.

Example: Yes

3.6 Exclusive economic zone (optional)

  • Field can be left blank until 10th Jan 2026
  • EEZ must be entered as a 2 or 3 character country ISO codes.
  • If providing multiple EEZ, these must be separated by a semi-colon.
  • A list of country ISO codes can be found here: Online Browsing Platform (OBP)

Example: GBR

3.7 Regional fisheries management (optional)

Example: IOTC

3.8 Vessel PLN

  • The PLN must be a valid Vessel PLN.
  • Vessels must be licensed on the date the catch was landed.
  • Vessel PLNs are available from: www.fishhub.cefas.co.uk/vessel-register/

Example: PH1100

3.9 Gear Type (optional)

  • Field can be left blank until 10th Jan 2026
  • The gear type must be entered as a 2 or 3 character code.
  • The gear type must be a valid gear type code.
  • A list of gear type codes can be found here: Gear Type - GOV.UK

Example: PS

3.10 Export weight

  • The export weight must be in kilograms (kg).
  • Weights must be greater than zero with up to two decimal places.

Example: 50.95

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