Request for an administrative inquiry into fisheries catch data in the Netherlands

ClientEarth and the Low Impact Fishers of Europe (LIFE) are urging the European Commission to mandate an administrative inquiry into the Dutch pelagic fishery under Article 102.2 of the EU Fisheries Control Regulation 1224/2009. The organisations argue that the Netherlands has systemic deficiencies in its fisheries control system, noting that only two inspectors manage the vast landings of the pelagic fleet. They claim that pelagic freezer trawlers routinely use "unverified estimates" for landing declarations, creating a risk of "massive underreporting of many thousands of tonnes of pelagic catches over decades." The letter highlights the need for CCTV electronic control tools to ensure accountability for the discard ban and cetacean bycatch, citing the illegal discarding of Blue Whiting by the vessel FV Margiris as a specific example of the need for intensified control. The authors argue that such an inquiry is necessary to ensure a "level playing field" between large-scale and small-scale fishers and to maintain the credibility of the EU's fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

• The Dutch fisheries control system is described as having "persistent, serious and systemic deficiencies," evidenced by the European Commission's reasoned opinion regarding breaches of the EU Fisheries Control Regulation and other infringements related to the landing obligation and cetacean bycatch.
• There is a significant lack of oversight in the Dutch pelagic fleet, with reports indicating that "only two inspectors are in charge of controlling the Dutch pelagic fleet’s vast landings."
• The authors allege that pelagic freezer trawlers in Dutch ports frequently use "unverified estimates" for sales notes and landing declarations, which may lead to "systematic overfishing and potentially massive underreporting of many thousands of tonnes of pelagic catches over decades."
• The document identifies a failure to coordinate sea and land controls, noting that logbook entries and last haul reports can differ by a factor of "30 to 50," and calls for the implementation of "CCTV electronic control tools" to monitor the discard ban and cetacean bycatch.

APA

ClientEarth (2022). Request for an administrative inquiry into fisheries catch data in the Netherlands. https://www.clientearth.org/media/qwmk02cq/letter-to-commissioner-admin-enquiry-nl-fisheries-00000003.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Request for an administrative inquiry into fisheries catch data in the Netherlands. 2022. https://www.clientearth.org/media/qwmk02cq/letter-to-commissioner-admin-enquiry-nl-fisheries-00000003.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Request for an administrative inquiry into fisheries catch data in the Netherlands |date=31 March 2022 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/qwmk02cq/letter-to-commissioner-admin-enquiry-nl-fisheries-00000003.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2022request, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Request for an administrative inquiry into fisheries catch data in the Netherlands}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/qwmk02cq/letter-to-commissioner-admin-enquiry-nl-fisheries-00000003.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }