The control and enforcement of fisheries in the Netherlands

The report finds that while the Netherlands rapidly integrated EU fisheries control requirements into national law, practical implementation is undermined by resource shortages and low sanctions. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has seen a decrease in staff and funding, and the report notes a potential conflict of interest due to the NVWA's dual role as an inspection and certification authority. Furthermore, sanctions applied by courts are often not deterrent, with repeat offences and the capture of endangered species like the European eel frequently resulting only in community service. Between 2012 and 2014, only 16 penalty points were attributed, suggesting the penalty point system is not widely applied in practice.

• The Netherlands successfully and rapidly incorporated the requirements of the EU Control Regulation into national law by July 2011, including the establishment of a national register of infringements known as the "SPIN" system and a penalty point system effective since 2012.
• The effectiveness of fisheries inspections is compromised by a reduction in resources and staff at the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), with full-time inspectors decreasing from 42 to 36.
• There is a potential conflict of interest within the NVWA because the agency serves as both an inspection authority and an export certification authority, which may expose inspectors to internal pressure.
• Sanctions applied in practice are generally low and fail to act as effective deterrents; for example, serious offences such as the capture of the critically endangered European eel often result only in community service.
• The penalty point system for serious infringements is underutilized, with only 16 points attributed to licence holders between 2012 and 2014.
• There is a lack of coordination between administrative and judicial authorities, meaning a judge's classification of a behavior as a crime does not necessarily compel the administrative authority to assign penalty points.

APA

Van den Berghe, A. (2017). The control and enforcement of fisheries in the Netherlands. ClientEarth. https://www.clientearth.org/media/fsalozol/the-control-and-enforcement-of-fisheries-in-the-netherlands-ce-en.pdf

Chicago

Van den Berghe, Amandine. The control and enforcement of fisheries in the Netherlands. ClientEarth, 2017. https://www.clientearth.org/media/fsalozol/the-control-and-enforcement-of-fisheries-in-the-netherlands-ce-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Van den Berghe |first1=Amandine |title=The control and enforcement of fisheries in the Netherlands |publisher=ClientEarth |date=September 2017 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/fsalozol/the-control-and-enforcement-of-fisheries-in-the-netherlands-ce-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vandenberghe2017control, author = {Van den Berghe, Amandine}, title = {{The control and enforcement of fisheries in the Netherlands}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/fsalozol/the-control-and-enforcement-of-fisheries-in-the-netherlands-ce-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }