The Marine Management Organisation provide a breakdown of annual UK exports of seafood to the EU in their annual statistics. The requested information is available on GOV.UK here.

The data requested on the volume and value of UK seafood exports to the EU in each quarter since January 2021, by country of destination, is attached to this answer and will be placed in the House of Commons library. These tables are derived from HMRC's UK Trade in Goods Statistics.

The Government is committed to upholding high animal welfare standards in all of our trading relationships, with Faroese imports subject to the UK’s strict quality and standards regime.

There are currently no plans to formally review the terms of the UK-Faroe Islands Free Trade Agreement (FTA). However, the Government will continue to raise animal welfare with the Faroe Islands at every appropriate opportunity, including via the UK-Faroe Islands FTA Joint Committee, which last met in June 2026.

Food labelling rules require country of origin information for some fish products. The Government has not undertaken a specific assessment of mandating country of origin labelling requirements for fish or seafood products imported from the Faroe Islands in cases where it is not already required. Food labelling requirements are kept under review to ensure they provide clear information for consumers, while remaining proportionate and consistent with wider regulatory and trade considerations.

Defra officials continue to look at how the origin for food products may be better highlighted to ensure consumers can make informed choices wherever they purchase food.

UK catch certificates for export are already available digitally through the Fish Export Service.

Catch certificates the Government receive from third countries are generally paper-based documents. The Government will consider any opportunities to move to a more digital-based system as they arise.

T2

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Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab):

Today a letter is on its way to the Secretary of State. It is signed by over 40 MPs and peers, and highlights the Coalition for Fisheries Transparency’s “Criminal catches” report. Will the Minister agree to meet us to discuss how we can stop the UK becoming a dumping ground for illegal seafood linked to criminality, environmental destruction and human exploitation?

Once my hon. Friend gets the letter off to us, she will certainly get a reply. The UK has a robust regulatory framework to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. DEFRA and the Marine Management Organisation work closely with the devolved Governments, local authorities and port health authorities to ensure that documents are appropriately checked and verified on seafood imports from all countries. If she wants to demonstrate cases where that is not happening, I would be very interested indeed to hear from her.

The Government is committed to supporting the sustainable, industry‑led growth of the aquaculture sector, and the English Aquaculture Strategy sets out the aquaculture sector’s ambitions for 2040.

We have no plans for a legally binding food production target, but as we develop plans to support delivery of the food strategy outcomes, we are focussed on securing resilient domestic production that supports good growth and enhances domestic food security.

Defra and the Marine Management Organisation work closely with Devolved Governments, Local Authorities and Port Health Authorities to ensure illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing documentary checks are completed at the border and appropriate verifications are conducted on seafood imports to the UK . Verifications, defined under Article 17 of the UK's IUU Regulation, are formal checks beyond standard documentary reviews. Competent Authorities conduct risk-based checks, and if concerns arise, the MMO may hold consignments and carry out verifications.

At the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 23 June 2025, Devolved Government Ministers set out their view that shares of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund (FCGF) should be devolved and administered by Devolved Governments.

On the 20 October 2025, it was announced that the FCGF would be devolved and delivered by Devolved Governments. Ahead of the announcement, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs confirmed allocations, using the Barnett formula in line with HM Treasury guidance for devolved policy areas such as fisheries, with Scotland expected to receive £28 million. The Government has no plans to review this level of funding.

This funding is in addition to the wider Spending Review settlements, which provide devolved governments with at least 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending.

Each administration has full discretion to target its share in line with local priorities, including seafood promotion and exports, and is responsible for engaging with its own industry. The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs continues to meet stakeholders across the UK and supports collaboration to maximise benefits for fishing and coastal communities.

The FCGF is being developed to support coastal communities. As part of this, officials are exploring how the fund might align with broader place-based approaches, including principles similar to those used in the Pride in Place programme.

We are working to finalise the necessary arrangements for the allocation of the FCGF and will provide an update on this to all Devolved Governments as soon as we are able to.

At the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 23 June 2025, Devolved Government Ministers set out their view that shares of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund (FCGF) should be devolved and administered by Devolved Governments.

On the 20 October 2025, it was announced that the FCGF would be devolved and delivered by Devolved Governments. Ahead of the announcement, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs confirmed allocations, using the Barnett formula in line with HM Treasury guidance for devolved policy areas such as fisheries, with Scotland expected to receive £28 million. The Government has no plans to review this level of funding.

This funding is in addition to the wider Spending Review settlements, which provide devolved governments with at least 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending.

Each administration has full discretion to target its share in line with local priorities, including seafood promotion and exports, and is responsible for engaging with its own industry. The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs continues to meet stakeholders across the UK and supports collaboration to maximise benefits for fishing and coastal communities.

The FCGF is being developed to support coastal communities. As part of this, officials are exploring how the fund might align with broader place-based approaches, including principles similar to those used in the Pride in Place programme.

We are working to finalise the necessary arrangements for the allocation of the FCGF and will provide an update on this to all Devolved Governments as soon as we are able to.

At the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 23 June 2025, Devolved Government Ministers set out their view that shares of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund (FCGF) should be devolved and administered by Devolved Governments.

On the 20 October 2025, it was announced that the FCGF would be devolved and delivered by Devolved Governments. Ahead of the announcement, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs confirmed allocations, using the Barnett formula in line with HM Treasury guidance for devolved policy areas such as fisheries, with Scotland expected to receive £28 million. The Government has no plans to review this level of funding.

This funding is in addition to the wider Spending Review settlements, which provide devolved governments with at least 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending.

Each administration has full discretion to target its share in line with local priorities, including seafood promotion and exports, and is responsible for engaging with its own industry. The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs continues to meet stakeholders across the UK and supports collaboration to maximise benefits for fishing and coastal communities.

The FCGF is being developed to support coastal communities. As part of this, officials are exploring how the fund might align with broader place-based approaches, including principles similar to those used in the Pride in Place programme.

We are working to finalise the necessary arrangements for the allocation of the FCGF and will provide an update on this to all Devolved Governments as soon as we are able to.

At the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 23 June 2025, Devolved Government Ministers set out their view that shares of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund (FCGF) should be devolved and administered by Devolved Governments.

On the 20 October 2025, it was announced that the FCGF would be devolved and delivered by Devolved Governments. Ahead of the announcement, the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs confirmed allocations, using the Barnett formula in line with HM Treasury guidance for devolved policy areas such as fisheries, with Scotland expected to receive £28 million. The Government has no plans to review this level of funding.

This funding is in addition to the wider Spending Review settlements, which provide devolved governments with at least 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending.

Each administration has full discretion to target its share in line with local priorities, including seafood promotion and exports, and is responsible for engaging with its own industry. The Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs continues to meet stakeholders across the UK and supports collaboration to maximise benefits for fishing and coastal communities.

The FCGF is being developed to support coastal communities. As part of this, officials are exploring how the fund might align with broader place-based approaches, including principles similar to those used in the Pride in Place programme.

We are working to finalise the necessary arrangements for the allocation of the FCGF and will provide an update on this to all Devolved Governments as soon as we are able to.

Funding for the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund is being allocated using the Barnett formula, in line with HM Treasury guidance. Each Devolved Government is responsible for determining how its share of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund supports its fishing and seafood sectors, including exports. Devolved Governments can choose to target investment in line with their local priorities and economic context.

Seafood sold in the UK is subject to traceability requirements to ensure fish and fisheries products can be tracked from the final point of sale back to its point of origin and included in catch figures. These traceability requirements include rules on recording catches, sales, purchases and labelling of fish that is landed in the UK and placed on the market.

Seafood traceability and fishing vessel activity information is further strengthened by vessel monitoring systems which are now required on all English fishing vessels and all fishing vessels of any nationality over 12 metres in length fishing in English waters. These devices track a vessel’s location, speed and heading in real time, providing evidence about vessel activity and where seafood is being caught, providing enforcement agencies a view of fishing.

The UK will be updating the information required on catch certificates this year. These changes will focus on ensuring the robustness of the data on traceability measures and will ensure that UK exporters can continue to re-export seafood originating from other countries to the EU. The UK’s Fish Export Service (FES) enables exporters to generate electronic IUU catch documentation, including catch certificates. The UK also plans to integrate FES with the EU’s CATCH system in 2026 to support system interoperability.

The UK will be updating the information required on catch certificates this year. These changes will focus on ensuring the robustness of the data on traceability measures and will ensure that UK exporters can continue to re-export seafood originating from other countries to the EU. The UK’s Fish Export Service (FES) enables exporters to generate electronic IUU catch documentation, including catch certificates. The UK also plans to integrate FES with the EU’s CATCH system in 2026 to support system interoperability.

The UK has retained the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Regulation following its departure from the EU and continues to apply its provisions. While the UK has not formally adopted the EU’s carding system, it does enforce import bans on seafood from countries that have been red-carded by the EU, such as Cambodia, Comoros, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Imports and landings from vessels listed on the UK’s IUU vessel list are also prohibited. Imports from yellow-carded countries are permitted to avoid unnecessary trade disruption because marking these countries as IUU offenders may undermine their efforts to improve compliance and address IUU fishing. The UK keeps issues related to IUU fishing and human rights abuses in seafood supply chains under active review, and we welcome robust evidence from stakeholders to inform future policy development.

The UK has retained the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Regulation following its departure from the EU and continues to apply its provisions. While the UK has not formally adopted the EU’s carding system, it does enforce import bans on seafood from countries that have been red-carded by the EU, such as Cambodia, Comoros, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Imports and landings from vessels listed on the UK’s IUU vessel list are also prohibited. Imports from yellow-carded countries are permitted to avoid unnecessary trade disruption because marking these countries as IUU offenders may undermine their efforts to improve compliance and address IUU fishing. The UK keeps issues related to IUU fishing and human rights abuses in seafood supply chains under active review, and we welcome robust evidence from stakeholders to inform future policy development.

Defra and the Marine Management Organisation work closely with Devolved Governments, Local Authorities and Port Health Authorities to ensure illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing documentary checks are completed at the border and appropriate verifications are conducted on seafood imports to the UK. Verifications, defined under Article 17 of the UK’s IUU Regulation, are formal checks beyond standard documentary reviews. Competent Authorities conduct risk-based checks, and if concerns arise, the MMO may hold consignments and carry out verifications.