Guidance

Fish and shellfish: preparing your business

Updated 28 May 2026

Reason for the changes 

The UK government is negotiating an agreement with the EU on the trade and movement of plants, plant products, animals, animal products, feed and food. This is called a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement.

The agreement means Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland will apply certain rules in line with the EU. These arrangements will apply whether or not you trade directly with the EU. It is our intention that the agreement will take effect in mid-2027.

As EU rules change in the future, rules in Great Britain will update too. The UK will contribute to the decision-shaping process on future EU rules that will also apply in Great Britain.

Read more about the benefits in the UK-EU SPS agreement – information for businesses news story.

As negotiations are ongoing, not all details are confirmed at this stage. This includes detailed requirements and the exact timing of when arrangements will change. We recognise that some businesses will take longer to comply and we are committed to working with them to ensure a smooth transition. Further information will be provided following the completion of negotiations.

Why this matters

This is relevant to businesses and organisations involved in importing and exporting fish and shellfish products between the UK and the EU. You will need to follow relevant EU rules covered by this agreement, whether you trade with the EU or only operate within the UK. Even if you do not export, changes to standards, inputs and supply chains may affect your business.

The agreement aims to provide greater long-term certainty for the fish and shellfish sector by setting up a stable framework for future trade and regulation.

More broadly, these improvements could support increased production for UK businesses and greater product choice for consumers on both sides of the Channel.

What this means for the fish and shellfish sector

The changes under the SPS agreement may affect how you operate if you catch, farm, process, import or export fish and shellfish.

These changes may affect:

• certification and documentation needed when you move or export goods
• requirements you need to follow for food and feed safety and hygiene
• standards your products must meet, including contaminants and additives
• the way you transport or handle live aquatic animals
• what your buyers, suppliers or partners require from you
• your supply chains, including movements within Great Britain and to the EU

You may also need to review whether:

• your products meet updated EU rules, including changes to contaminants and hygiene requirements
• any products need to be reformulated to comply with EU requirements (for example, where EU authorisations differ from those previously used in Great Britain)
• changes to identification marks or labelling apply to your products

If you import or export fish and shellfish, the agreement will change how you meet SPS requirements. For example, some existing certification and border processes may change, while requirements for trade with non-EU countries will continue to apply.

If you handle live aquatic animals, there will be changes to requirements for keeping, transporting and moving them. Further detail will be provided in sector-specific guidance.

Requirements relating to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing will continue to apply. You will still need to meet existing documentation and check requirements for imports and exports.

What businesses should know at this stage

Organisations and businesses, including fishing, aquaculture and shellfish production, are encouraged to continue engaging with the process to be ready by mid-2027. You can do this by keeping informed.

At this stage, you are not expected to make detailed changes. You should consider the changes to requirements and how they could affect your business. The government will provide more detail in summer 2026, including next steps.

What we know now (and what will be confirmed later)

As negotiations with the EU are ongoing, not all details are confirmed at this stage. This information outlines what is known now to help you start planning, with further detail to follow later this year.  

The UK-EU SPS agreement is intended to reduce administrative requirements for UK seafood exports. This is expected to simplify processes for exporting fish and shellfish products to the EU (the UK’s largest seafood export market) supporting trade continuity and competitiveness for UK businesses.

It will remove the requirements for export health certificates (EHCs) and many routine border controls for eligible fish and shellfish products, those that meet applicable food hygiene between the UK and EU. This will reduce border delays, helping to minimise spoilage, waste and associated costs.

EHCs will still need to be used for rest of world exports.

We expect the agreement to result in the reopening of live bivalve mollusc (LBM) exports from Class B waters to the EU for depuration. 

There will be changes to requirements if you keep, transport, export, import or move live aquatic animals. Further details can be found in the ‘Food production, plants, animals and associated sectors’ guidance.

The government is still negotiating the detailed operational and technical arrangements of the SPS agreement. This guidance will be updated as negotiations progress and further information becomes available. You are encouraged to monitor updates and prepare for implementation once details are confirmed.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing documents

The IUU fishing regulations are not covered by the SPS agreement. This means that IUU controls will continue to apply to trade.

If you import seafood products into the UK, you will still need to submit pre-notifications and provide IUU documentation to an appropriate IUU system. This is to prevent IUU catches entering markets. Consignments will remain subject to IUU checks and any applicable charges upon entry into the UK. 

Catch documentation for wild caught seafood will still be required for export to the EU. This includes a catch certificate, processing statement and non-manipulation document where relevant.

The specific arrangements to facilitate the movement of goods, subject to IUU checks, from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is still subject to negotiations with the EU. We are working with businesses to inform discussions and to ensure the process meets our domestic and international obligations and works for all stakeholders. 

Further guidance on the operation of these requirements will be published in due course.

Food and feed safety and hygiene

Since EU Exit, the EU has introduced new, additional or revised maximum levels for contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and heavy metals (for example, lead and cadmium) in various foods. All food and feed businesses will need to ensure compliance with the levels set out in Regulation 2023/915. This legislation replaces Regulation 1881/2006, which will cease to apply.

The EU has not renewed any of their previously authorised smoke flavourings (which currently remain authorised for use in Great Britain). If your business will be impacted, you will need to reformulate affected products to meet EU rules under the SPS agreement.

British businesses may be required to change the form of ID marks applied to products of animal origin, including fish and shellfish products, under the SPS agreement. Under EU rules (Regulation 853/2004), establishments within the EU must use the EU suffix. We will have clarity on whether changes will be required, and if so, whether a transition period will apply, once negotiations conclude.

EU hygiene rules for foods of animal origin have changed since EU Exit. There are some new flexibilities businesses will be able to use under EU rules, such as water saving measures for live bivalve molluscs. There are also some new requirements, such as in the areas of temperature control.  

Further details on this and food labelling can be found in the food marketing, processing and standards guidance.

If you produce, manufacture or use animal feed

Under the SPS agreement, British feed additive authorisations will cease to apply, and EU authorisations will apply in Great Britain in their place.  

Authorisations in Great Britain and the EU have diverged since EU Exit, in terms of modification to existing authorisations, revocations and new authorisations. This divergence will continue during the negotiations of the SPS agreement.

You need to check the following resources to determine whether you need to reformulate any of your products or change the products you use in order to comply with EU rules under the SPS agreement:  

• feed additives – check EU’s Register of Feed Additives
• feed materials and feed for particular nutritional purposes – check the catalogue of feed materials, register of feed materials and list of intended uses of feed for particular nutritional purposes

Businesses making feed additive applications to the EU will need to follow the EU process and guidance under the SPS agreement. 

All feed businesses making market authorisation applications will need to follow the updated transparency rules in the EU’s General Food Law. This means businesses will be required to proactively disclose and notify the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) of commissioned studies. EFSA provided a Q&A update in 2023 to clarify some of the updated rules, which businesses will need to review.

If you import or export aquatic animals

There will be changes to certification requirements. Export health certificates will no longer be required to trade with the EU and will be replaced with intra trade animal health certificates (ITAHCs), which are cheaper and less complex. Refer to the ‘Food production, plants, animals and associated sectors’ guidance for further information.

Importing and exporting

The new SPS agreement is relevant to all businesses and organisations involved in importing and exporting SPS goods between the UK, EU and the rest of the world.

For trade between Great Britain and the EU, the SPS agreement will reduce the requirements for routine SPS documentation and controls. The requirements for export health certificates, phytosanitary certificates and routine border checks for most agrifood goods will be removed. Alignment with EU rules will mean there will be alignment with the EU’s approach to checks on rest of world SPS trade. Requirements for trade with countries outside the EU will also continue to apply, in line with international rules.

Customs controls will remain.

Great Britain to Northern Ireland movements

Under the SPS agreement, most agrifood goods will not need routine SPS certificates, checks and paperwork when moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

This will mean export health certificates and phytosanitary certificates, and the checks and controls associated with them, will no longer be required.

This will apply to all products that can be moved into the EU, which will include all food for processing, many retail products and, for example, plants for planting, seeds, and used agricultural and forestry machinery. The final restrictions on the movement of certain tree species will disappear.

The Windsor Framework will continue to apply, addressing Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances and safeguarding the Good Friday Agreement. This facilitates Northern Ireland’s dual market access to both the UK internal market and the EU single market.

In practice, the movement schemes set up under the Windsor Framework should no longer be needed, other than potentially for a limited number of goods not covered by the agreement (such as fish for retail with IUU requirements).

Early considerations for your business

To prepare for the UK-EU SPS agreement, you can now take the following steps:

• sign up for Defra email alerts and the SPS readiness mailing list to receive the latest updates
• check whether the SPS agreement is likely to apply to your business, especially if you produce, handle, move or trade animals, animal products, plants, plant products, food or feed – check how to prepare your business
• review your current supply chains and movements (including domestic movements and movements from Great Britain to Northern Ireland) to understand where SPS requirements may apply
• consider where your business currently follows EU rules and where you may have diverged since EU Exit
• speak to relevant partners (for example suppliers, customers, hauliers, vets or certification bodies) about potential future changes
• check with trusted sector organisations or trade bodies for any sector specific advice and updates

Following Defra discussions with the fish and shellfish sector, the importance of early clarity, practical guidance and sufficient lead-in time to prepare for the SPS alignment was made clear.

We have also taken into account industry concerns about the:

• risk of increased scrutiny at the border
• need for proportionate enforcement
• importance of maintaining access to key EU markets for both wild-caught and aquaculture products

We recognise these concerns and are committed to continue to engage closely with the sector as negotiations progress, ensuring that business expertise helps shape implementation where possible and further guidance is provided at the earliest opportunity.

Exceptions

The EU has accepted there will need to be areas where the UK will retain its own rules, as set out in the May 2025 Common Understanding. Details of these are subject to the ongoing negotiation. 

The government has been clear about the importance of being able to:

• set high animal welfare standards
• support public health
• support the use of new and innovative technologies

Further information will be provided following the completion of the negotiations.

What happens next

It is our intention that the agreement will take effect in mid-2027. Some detailed requirements and exact timings of when arrangements will change are still being finalised as part of ongoing negotiations.

Defra will continue to work with the sector to help shape future communications, guidance and support as further detail becomes available. We have set up an SPS Readiness Business Advisory Council, which is now meeting regularly. The council includes major trade associations and businesses.   

The following timeline sets out the expected stages for introducing the SPS agreement and when further information will be published:

• summer 2026 – further details on upcoming changes announced, including on any exceptions and transition periods
• autumn 2026 – detailed guidance and support, including checklists and practical tools, made available
• mid-2027 – agreement takes effect (subject to negotiations)

Further information will be provided following the completion of negotiations.

Stay informed

We will continue to publish updates as further detail is confirmed. To keep up to date, you can:

• sign up for Defra email alerts and the SPS readiness mailing list
• engage with your trade body or industry association for sector-specific updates, where relevant

You can also get additional support from other government agencies if you are a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). Contact: 

• Department for Business and Trade: Ask our export support team at the Department for Business and Trade a question
• Food Standards Agency: Regulated products application guidance