As of 10 January 2026, new EU rules on electronic catch reporting for recreational sea fishing have entered into force under the revised EU Fisheries Control Regulation.
Recreational sea anglers catching specified species are required to report their catches electronically and on the same day, using either the EU RecFishing app or a national online reporting system, depending on the Member State. The rollout is progressive and begins as soon as the system becomes available at national level.
RecFishing in Practice
To support Member States and limit administrative costs, the European Commission developed RecFishing, which consists of:
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a central EU server collecting aggregated national data; and
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a mobile app for recreational anglers to report catches.
Thirteen coastal EU countries are using the EU RecFishing app (Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Sweden). Other coastal Member States have developed their own national systems. Each country remains responsible for national implementation, guidance and applicable rules.
RecFishing is not a tracking tool, licensing system or enforcement mechanism. Only aggregated data are transmitted to EU level, in line with data protection rules.
EFTTA & EAA: Ensuring a Balanced Data Approach
From the outset, the European Fishing Tackle Trade Association (EFTTA) and the European Anglers Alliance (EAA) have supported improved data collection to inform science-based fisheries management. At the same time, they have jointly lobbied against a catch-only approach.
Their message has been clear: socio-economic data must complement catch data to allow decision-makers to develop fair and proportionate policies for recreational fishing, reflecting its contribution to businesses, jobs, coastal communities and public health.
A Concrete Result
This advocacy is now delivering results. EFTTA and EAA have been informed that use-case building for socio-economic data collection will start in Q2, within a working group involving the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Ireland and Poland.
Bottom line
The RecFishing rollout represents a major change for recreational sea fishing in Europe. Through the joint efforts of EFTTA, EAA, and other stakeholders, it is increasingly recognised that effective and fair policy requires more than catch data alone. The next phase – integrating socio-economic evidence – will be key to ensuring balanced, evidence-based decision-making.
Tight lines – we'll keep you posted!
More:
=> EU launches RecFishing – a digital system to symplify recreational fishing data collection
=> European Commission, Recreational Fisheries
The RecFishing mobile app can be used to report catches in 13 participating EU countries:
Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden.
=> Questions and answers on RecFishing
