EU Fisheries Control Regulation: What It Means for Weighing Catches

The EU Fisheries Control Regulation decides where, when and on what equipment catches must be weighed, and those weights feed directly into landing declarations and quota uptake. This guide summarises the weighing rules in Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2023/2842, and the detailed rules in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1932. This article is general information, not legal advice: check the rules that apply to your vessel and port with your national fisheries control authority.

The core rule: weigh per species immediately after landing

All quantities of fishery products landed in a Member State must be weighed per species immediately after landing, by an authorised operator and on weighing systems approved by the competent authorities, before they are stored, transported or placed on the market (Article 60(1) of Regulation 1224/2009, as replaced by Regulation (EU) 2023/2842). The new Article 60 has applied since 10 January 2026. Key elements:

• Who weighs: a registered buyer, registered auction, producer organisation or any other person, including the master, authorised by the competent authorities (Article 60(5)).
• Responsibility: the operator carrying out the weighing is responsible for its accuracy and must complete a weighing record for each landing, kept for three years (Article 60(5)).
• Use of the result: weighing records go immediately to the master and, where applicable, the transporter, and are used for the landing declaration and transport document (Article 60(7)).
• Official weighing: authorities may require any landed quantity to be weighed by, or in the presence of, their officials (Article 60(9)).
• Third-country vessels landing in the EU follow the same weighing rules as Union vessels (Article 60(1), second subparagraph).

Derogations, including weighing on board

Weighing somewhere other than immediately after landing is only possible under one of four derogations, each subject to approval by the Commission (Article 60(3)):

Article 60(3)	Where weighing takes place	Condition	Annex of Reg. 2026/1932
(a)	On landing, by sampling	Sampling plan; sorted or unsorted	II (fresh), III (frozen)
(b)	On board	Sorted products only; sampling plan at landing; flag Member State grants the derogation and ensures on-board systems are approved	IV
(c)	After transport within the Member State of landing	Control plan	V
(d)	After transport to another Member State	Common control programme agreed between Member States	VI

For weighing on board, Annex IV of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1932 sets the minimum conditions:

1. Only catching vessels expressly authorised by the flag Member State may weigh on board (point 1).
2. Products weighed on board are stored in boxes holding a single species, one presentation and one geographical area (point 2).
3. Each box carries a durable label showing the vessel name, CFR or IMO number, FAO alpha-3 species code and kilograms per species, presentation and area (points 3-4); see labelling fish boxes at sea.
4. Quantities weighed on board are recorded separately in the fishing logbook (point 5); the Member State of landing may require re-weighing (point 6).
5. At least 5 % of landings weighed on board are inspected each year by re-weighing a sample of boxes; the permitted difference between label and re-weighed value is 5 % per box or 5 % on average. If it is exceeded, the entire catch is weighed in the presence of officials (points 7-11).

The minimum re-weighing sample (Annex IV, point 12) is: all boxes up to 10; 11 boxes for 11-20; 14 for 21-30; 15 for 31-40; 16 for 41-50; 17 for 51-60; 18 for 61-70; 19 for 71-90; 20 for 91-100; 21 for 101-150; plus 2 for every additional 100 boxes. Masters authorised to weigh on board must also keep the authorisation and the certification documents of the on-board weighing systems on board or digitally accessible (Article 8(4) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2196).

What an approved weighing system must do

Every system used to weigh fishery products must meet the minimum requirements of Annex I of Regulation 2026/1932 and be approved, calibrated and sealed in accordance with national law; for on-board weighing, the flag Member State ensures this (Article 5(1)-(2)). The EU text does not itself name the NAWI or MID directives: which metrological approval is required is decided nationally, which is why our guide to the NAWI and MID directives matters in practice.

• General (Annex I, point 1): suitable for the fishery, quantities and presentation; on a stable, level surface, except hanging scales and on-board systems that are stationary at the time of weighing and where swinging does not affect accuracy; zeroed for each box, container and pallet, or pre-programmed with the manufacturer's tare.
• Technical failure (Article 5(3)): switch to another approved system or stop weighing until repaired; failures of conveyor belt, weighbridge and batch systems must be notified within 24 hours.
• Conveyor belt systems (point 2): cumulative counter of at least 8 digits, automatic stop on failure, zero setting before each landing, a log of all use including maintenance and washing, and no remote access unless data are protected against manipulation.
• Pallet weighing on non-automatic scales (point 5): an automatic or semi-automatic log of pallet weighings.

During inspections, operators must show officials the system's type, model, serial number, latest calibration certificate with expiry date and seal numbers (Article 32 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1766). How to organise that paperwork is covered in calibration and verification of marine scales.

What a weighing record must contain

From 11 January 2027 a weighing record contains at least (Article 3(1) of Regulation 2026/1932): the operator's name or ID; the weighing system with model and serial number; vessel name and CFR, IMO or other unique identifier; the fishing trip ID; date and time of completion; location; FAO alpha-3 code; kilograms per species by presentation and area, with undersized fish separately; any water and ice deduction; and the tare of each box, container, pallet or transport unit. A master acting as authorised weighing operator may use a simplified record that refers to the landing declaration number (Article 4). By 10 January 2030, records made under Annexes II-VI must be available electronically to the authorities (Article 3(4)).

Margins of tolerance: why scale accuracy matters to the master

Logbook estimates are compared with landed or inspected quantities, and the difference must stay within the margin of tolerance in Article 14 of the consolidated Control Regulation, applicable since 10 July 2024:

Situation	Permitted margin
General rule	10 % per species (Art. 14(3))
Species retained on board not exceeding 100 kg live weight	20 % per species (Art. 14(3))
Unsorted small pelagic, industrial or tropical tuna purse seine landings in listed ports: species of 2 % or more	10 % of the total quantity, per species, plus 10 % on the total (Art. 14(4)(a))
Same, species below 2 %	200 kg or 0.5 % of the total, whichever is greater (Art. 14(4)(a))
Unsorted landings elsewhere: species of 2 % or more / below 2 %	10 % per species / 200 kg or 20 %, whichever is greater (Art. 14(4)(b))

Where the on-board estimate comes from an approved scale, the weighed result is recorded as the estimate and the logbook indicates whether weighing on board under Article 60(3)(b) took place (Annex XV, point 22, of Regulation 2025/2196). A scale that reads consistently low or high therefore shows up directly in tolerance checks; why ordinary scales fail at sea explains how vessel motion creates exactly that kind of bias.

Timeline of application dates

Date	What applies	Legal basis
9 Jan 2024	Regulation 2023/2842 enters into force	2023/2842 Art. 7(1)
10 Jul 2024	New margins of tolerance	2023/2842 Art. 7(5)
10 Jan 2026	New Articles 60 and 60a; Article 61 deleted; Regulation 2025/2196 applies and repeals 404/2011, except its weighing Articles 71-77	2023/2842 Art. 7(2); 2025/2196 Arts 79 and 82
10 Jan 2027	End of old sampling plans, control plans and common control programmes approved under the old rules; Articles 71-77 of 404/2011 cease to apply	2023/2842 Art. 8(3); 2025/2196 Art. 79(2)(a)
11 Jan 2027	Implementing Regulation 2026/1932 applies	2026/1932 Art. 15
10 Jan 2028	Trip-ID exemption ends for vessels without electronic logbook; transitional measures in approved plans end	2026/1932 Arts 3(3) and 9(2)
10 Jan 2030	2 % water and ice deduction for fresh pelagic products ends unless allowed by the Commission; electronic records; conveyor and batch systems need failure and manipulation detection	2026/1932 Arts 3(4), 6(10); Annex I points 2(b), 8

Commission approval of a derogation lasts five consecutive years and can be renewed (Article 12(1) and 13(2) of Regulation 2026/1932).

What changed with Regulation 2023/2842

Compared with the original 2009 text, the amendment tightened weighing in five ways: weighing per species immediately after landing is now explicit; the authorised operator, who may be the master, carries responsibility for accuracy; on-board weighing is limited to sorted products and needs Commission approval; weighing after transport moved from Article 61 into Article 60(3)(c)-(d); and the three-year record-keeping duty is now in the Regulation itself. The margins of tolerance gained the 20 % rule for small quantities and specific rules for unsorted landings.

How WPL approaches this

WPL designs motion-compensated scales such as the M2 Series and the M5 platform scale, and WeightControl logs every weighing with CSV and JSON export, which helps operators assemble weighing records. Whether a particular configuration is acceptable for Article 60 weighing is decided by your competent authority; see the legal metrology hub for the full picture.