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Labelling of Fishery & Aquaculture Products

EU legislation

Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 of 20 November 2009 (OJ L 343, p1, 22.12.2009) establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the common fisheries policy.

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 404/2011 (OJ L 112, p1, 30.04.2011) of 8 April 2011 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 establishing a Community control system for ensuring compliance with the rules of the Common Fisheries Policy.

Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 354, p1, 28.12.2013) of 11 December 2103 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products.

Amended by  

Consolidated version of Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 (as at 25 April 2020)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1420/2013 (OJ L 353, p48, 28/12/2013) of 17 December 2013 on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products

National legislation

European Communities (Labelling of Fishery and Aquaculture Products) Regulations, 2016 (S.I. 121 of 2016)

General provisions

Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 sets out rules on the mandatory and voluntary information to be provided for prepacked and non-prepacked fishery and aquaculture products. These rules apply to the following:

a) CN 0301: Live fish
    CN 0302: Fish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304
    CN 0303: Fish, frozen, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304
    CN 0304: Fish fillets and other fish meat (whether or not minced), fresh, chilled or frozen

b) CN 0305: Fish, dried, salted or in brine; smoked fish, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process; flours, meals and pellets of fish, fit for human consumption

c) CN 0306: Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, whether or not chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; flours, meals and pellets of crustaceans, fit for human consumption
    CN 0307: Molluscs, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans and molluscs, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; flours, meals and pellets of aquatic invertebrates other than crustaceans, fit for human consumption

d) CN 1212 20 00: Seaweeds and other algae

Mandatory information

Article 35 of the Regulation sets out the mandatory information that must be provided for prepacked and non-prepacked products and specifies the following indications:

  • Commercial and scientific name of the species (see SFPA Commercial Designation list for details)
  • Production method ("…caught…" or "…caught in freshwater…" or "…farmed…")
  • Area where the product was caught or farmed
  • Category of fishing gear used
  • Whether the product has been defrosted (with limited exceptions)
  • Date of minimum durability ('best-before' date) – where appropriate

In addition to the above, prepacked products must also display all the relevant information specified in Articles 9 and 10 of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers.

Voluntary information

The Regulation also permits the provision of the following information on a voluntary basis, provided that it is clear, unambiguous and verifiable:

  • Date of catch of fishery products or the date of harvest of aquaculture products
  • Date of landing of fishery products or information on the port at which the products were landed
  • More detailed information on the type of fishing gear
  • In the case of fishery products caught at sea, details of the flag State of the vessel that caught those products
  • Environmental information
  • Information of an ethical or social nature
  • Information on production techniques and practices
  • Information on the nutritional content of the product

Voluntary information must not be displayed to the detriment of the space available for mandatory information on the marking or labelling.

EU guidance

The EU has published a guide to these rules - A Pocket Guide to the EU's new Fish and Aquaculture Consumer Labels