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EUROPEAN COMMISSIONDIRECTORATE-GENERA L FOR MARITIME AFFAIRS AND FISHERIES

THE DIRECTOR-GENERALBrussels,MARE/A/4/ED ARES(2010)

N O T E T O T H E A T T E N T I O N O F A L L H E A D S O F D E L E G A T I O N A N D C H A R G S D ' A F F A I R E S I NT H I R D C O U N T R I E S W H I C H H A V E N O T I FIE D T O T H E E U R O PE A N C O M M I SSI O N T H E I R

C O M PE T E N T A U T H O R I T IE S IN A C C O R D AN C E W I T H A R T I C L E 2 0 O FI UU R E G U L A TI O N N O 1 0 0 5 / 2 0 0 8

Subject: IUU RegulationW eight in the catch certificateProduct code

On 1 January 2010, the IUU Regulation entered into force. Since then, EU MemberStates have received catch certificates from various third countries having notified theirauthorities to the C omm ission.Authorities in EU Member States have reported to the Commission that in many catchcertificates, the weight of the product is not entered in a correct manner. Weight in thecatch certificate ("Estimated live weight", "Estimated weight to be landed", "Verifiedweight landed") should only cover the consignment to be exported to the EU and not thetotal catch landed. Instead of applying this rule, which is important to ensure traceability,certain third countries are validating catch certificates for the products landed and not forthe product exported to the EU.As a result, EU authorities are receiving an increasing number of certificates with theme ntion of a weigh t which is superior to the actual weight exported. Such a situationma kes verifications difficult for the authorities, in particular to determ ine if the certificateactually refers to the products and to authorise their importation. This misinterpretation ofthe IUU Regulation is raising uncertainty in respect of the legal status of the products,wh ich can on ly be beneficial to operators not abiding with conservation and managem entrules.Therefore, as an immediate measure, the Member States are invited by the Commissionto request the verification of all certificates with an incorrect weight to determine if theycan apply to the products prior to authorise their importation.From 15 August 2010, products accompanied by a catch certificate with an incorrectweight filled in will not be authorised to enter the EU market. Clear instructions will begiven to EU Member States on this point, as this situation can no longer be accepted.

Commission europenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGI - Tel. +32 22991111

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In practical terms, it means that all the catch certificates validated after this date shouldmention the weight of the consignment to be exported and not the total catch. As animmediate m easure, the Member States will thus be invited by the Commission to requestthe verification of all certificates with an incorrect weight to determine if they can applyto the products prior to authorise their importation.Some third countries are also filling the catch certificate in an incorrect manner withregards to the product code. Some catch certificates only indicate a 4 digit code, while allthird countries having notified the implementation of the IUU Regulation areimplementing 6 or more digit codes, all based on the 6 digit codes of the HarmonizedCommodity Description and Coding System (HS). The use of a 4 digit code does notensure a sufficient traceability and can facilitate to manipulations in order to trade illegalproducts with certificates validated for legally obtained products. The Commission willinvite the Member States to send back to the flag States all certificates indicating 4 digitcodes in order to determine the exact nature of the products for which they have beenvalidated prior to authorise importation.I would be grateful if you could inform as soon as possible third countries falling underyour area of competence of this decision.If you have additional questions on this file , my services can be reached via the followingaddress:MARE-OUERIES-IUU-lQ05-2008(a),ec.europa.eu

Lwri Evans

Enel. List of Delegations concerned

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c c : ManagementIU U Team A/4Mrs. Alvarellos (TRADE), Garcia Ferrer (TRADE)M issions of third coun tries in BrusselsMem ber States' ministries and permament representations

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Annex 1 - List of Delegations concernedHead of Delegation in South AfricaHead of Delegation in AlbaniaHead of Delegation in AlgeriaHead of Delegation in AngolaHead of Delegation in ArgentinaHead of Delegation in AustraliaHead of Delegation in Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and GrenadaHead of Delegation in BeninHead of Delegation in BrazilHead of Delegation in CameroonHead of Delegation in CanadaHead of Delegation in Cape VerdeHead of Delegation in ChileHead of Delegation in ChinaHead of Delegation in ColombiaHead of Delegation in KoreaHead of Delegation in Ivory CoastHead of Delegation in CroatiaHead of Delegation in EgyptHead of Delegation in EritreaHead of Delegation in WashingtonHead of Delegation in FijiHead of Delegation in GabonHead of Delegation in GhanaHead of Delegation in the Republic of GuineaHead of Delegation in GuyanaHead of Delegation in IcelandHead of Delegation in IndiaHead of Delegation in IndonesiaHead of Delegation in Jamaica, Belize and the BahamasHead of Delegation in JapanHead of Delegation in KenyaHead of Delegation in Madagascar

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Head of Delegation in MalaysiaHead of D elegation in M auritaniaHead of Delegation in Mauritius and the Seych ellesHead of Delegation in MexicoHead of Delegation in MontenegroHead of Delegation in M oroccoHead of Delegation in MozambiqueHead of DelegationHead of D elegationHead of Delegation

in Namibiain Nicaraguain Nigeria

Head of the Delegation in NorwayHead of D elegationHead of DelegationHead of D elegationHead of DelegationHead of D elegationHead of DelegationHead of D elegationHead of D elegationHead of DelegationHead of DelegationHead of D elegationHead of DelegationHead of D elegationHead of D elegation

in Pakistanin Papua New Guineain Peruin Philippinesin Russiain Saudi Arabia and Omanin Senegalin Sri Lanka and the Maldivesin Tanzaniain Thailand and Myanmarin Tunisiain Turkeyin Uruguayin Venezuelain Vietnamead of Delegation

Head of Delegation in YemenHead of Office in TaiwanCharge d'affaires in Costa Rica and in PanamaCharge d'affaires in CubaCharge d'affaires in EcuadorCharge d'affaires in GambiaCharge d'affaires in GuatemalaCharge d'affaires in New CaledoniaCharge d'affaires in New Zealand

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Charg d'affaires in San SalvadorCharg d'affaires in Solomon IslesCharg d'affaires in Suriname