All fishing vessels of 12 metres and over must have a fully functioning vessel monitoring system (VMS) on board as part of rule changes outlined by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA).
The SFPA says that other changes will apply from January 10th, 2026 under the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1766 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2196, adopted under the amended EU Fisheries Control Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/2842).
The new rules introduce changes to vessel monitoring and reporting, prior notification of landings, logbook recording, marking and identification of vessels and fishing gear, and electronic reporting obligations for transport documents, as well as for the buying, selling and storage of fisheries products, along with enhanced requirements for the traceability of fisheries and aquaculture products.
To support industry preparedness, the SFPA has published a suite of updated Fisheries Information Notices (FINs) outlining the new requirements for vessel operators and for operators involved in the transport, first sale, purchase and storage of fisheries products.
A high level summary of the key changes is set out below.
Key Changes for Vessel Operators
(Unless otherwise stated, these changes apply from 10 January 2026)
Vessel Monitoring Device Requirements FIN
- All vessels of 12 metres length overall (LOA) and above, are required to have a fully functioning vessel monitoring system onboard. The previous derogation for certain vessels between 12–15m LOA has been removed.
- From 10 July 2027, the VMS transmission frequency will increase to at least once every 30 minutes. Until that date, vessels may continue to transmit position data at least once every two hours.
Landing and Prior Notification Requirements of Irish Fishing Vessels FIN
- All vessels of 12m LOA and above, must submit an electronic prior notification of arrival at least four hours before entering port. This requirement previously applied only in limited circumstances.
EU Logbook Recording Requirements
- Vessels of 12m LOA and above, must record fishing activity on a haul-by-haul basis. Masters are reminded that haul-by-haul recording is not automatic in electronic logbook systems and must be actively completed for each fishing operation.
Marking and Identification of Fishing Vessels FIN
- The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) ship identification number scheme now applies to vessels of 12m LOA and above operating outside Union waters.
- Existing IMO requirements for larger vessels operating inside Union waters and for third-country vessels remain unchanged.
- Vessel external registration letters and numbers may now be painted on one side of the stern and one side of the bow.
Marking and Identification of Fishing Gear FIN
- Size requirements for fixed net labels have been removed.
- Cords linking buoys to passive gear must be labelled with the vessel’s external registration letters and numbers.
- From 10 January 2027, trawl doors and trawl selvedge’s must clearly display the vessel’s external registration letters and numbers.
Key Changes for Operators Transporting, Buying, Selling and Storing Fisheries Products
Sales Note FIN
- All sales notes must be submitted electronically within 48 hours after the first sale, regardless of the operator’s annual turnover.
- Sales notes may be submitted via the FishingNet portal.
- Final consumers purchasing small quantities of fisheries products directly from vessels for their own consumption remain exempt from the sales note obligation; however, the maximum daily quantity under this exemption has been reduced from 30kg to 10kg.
Take-Over Declarations FIN
- All take-over declarations for fisheries products stored prior to first sale must be submitted electronically within 24 hours after landing, regardless of annual turnover.
- Take-over declarations may be submitted via the FishingNet portal in the same manner as sales notes.
Transport of Fishery Products FIN
- Transport documents must be submitted electronically prior to the start of transportation of the fishery products.
- Pending the implementation of national electronic submission systems, transport documents must be submitted by email to the port office (SFPA Port Offices) in whose supervisory area the landing took place as an interim arrangement.
- Operators will be notified in advance when electronic submission via a designated system becomes mandatory.
Traceability of Fisheries & Aquaculture Products FIN
- Enhanced traceability requirements will apply to fishery products and aquaculture products falling under Chapter 3 of the Combined Nomenclature.
- These requirements apply to mono-products and strengthen existing traceability obligations, including requirements relating to digital availability of lot information.
- Operators at all stages of production, processing and distribution must ensure that lot information is: Kept on record and made available in a digital way to the next operator and to competent authorities upon request.
- Subject to agreement between operators, digital availability may be achieved via email, PDF, or scanned or photographed labels or commercial documents. This does not remove existing obligations to provide traceability information on labels or accompanying documentation.
The SFPA says these regulations repeal Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 and introduce updated EU fisheries control requirements, it says.
There are exceptions where (a) Article 10 and Articles 71 to 77 of Regulation (EU) 404/2011 shall continue to apply until 10 January 2027; (b) Articles 61, 62, and 63 of Regulation (EU) 404/2011 shall continue to apply until 10 January 2028, it says.
All information can be accessed on the SFPA website here: Fishery Information Notices | Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (sfpa.ie)
