Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing constitutes one of the most serious threats to the sustainable use of fishery resources.
In response to risks caused by IUU fishing, the international community has been making a wide array of efforts to prevent IUU fishery products from entering the markets, including introduction of the catch certification/documentation in accordance with the relevant international agreed documents (e.g. "Voluntary Guidelines for Catch Documentation Schemes" proposed by FAO and "International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing" published by FAO).
The European Union, the United States and the Republic Korea have introduced such schemes to prevent the import of IUU catches. Under these circumstances, in order to fulfil Japan’s responsibility as one of the world's largest importers of fishery products, Japan will introduce a Japan’s catch documentation scheme based on “Act on Ensuring the Proper Domestic Distribution and Importation of Specified Aquatic Animals and Plants” to prevent the import of IUU catches into Japan, aiming at contributing to global efforts to eliminate IUU fishing.
For details on the catch certificate, please see the Annex (TECHNICAL NOTE(ver2.0)) which covers relevant requirements etc. stipulated in the Enforcement Regulation.