EU releases catch-reporting RecFishing App across Europe

Belgium has become the first country in the EU to adopt the RecFishing App, the catch reporting system that requires all sea anglers across the region to record their catches for scientific purposes.

For the first time ever, fishermen in 13 coastal EU countries – Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden, will be required to report their catch via the official EU RecFishing mobile app.

Fishermen wishing to fish in the waters of the nine other Member States using another reporting tool – Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain – must use the tools or applications specified by the authorities in those countries.

The mobile app is being introduced gradually across the countries that have requested to use it. As well as Belgium, it is already available to anglers in Denmark, Poland and Cyprus.

Recreational fishermen are required to register their catch once the app is available in their country and it is the first time that marine fisheries data is being collected on a large scale across the EU.

A spokesperson for the European Commission told Angling International: “The app supports the electronic reporting and recording of catches in marine recreational fisheries where required under EU or national rules. Its main purpose is to improve the quality and consistency of data on recreational fishing activity across the EU, which is necessary for sound fisheries management and evidence-based decision making.”

The app allows anglers to record catches for specific species and stocks or groups of stock. The information includes catch location, species names, fishing gear type, fishing mode, quantities, weight/length, duration of the fishing session and catch time.

“Reliable data on recreational fisheries is essential to ensure that management measures are appropriate and based on evidence,” added the spokesperson. “Better data helps avoid assumptions, supports fair treatment between sectors and contributes to the long-term sustainability of fish stocks, which benefits all users of the marine environment.”

The new reporting rules – introduced under EU law – apply to all marine recreational anglers who fish in the territorial or Union waters of the 22 coastal EU countries regardless of the nationality or place of residence of the angler.

Where adherence to the requirements are mandatory, compliance and enforcement measures are determined and applied at a national level.