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How to create a catch certificate in TRACES, box by box
The full sequence: from «Documents → CATCH» to «Submit to Vessel Masters», with what goes in each box.
This is the document originated by the non-EU exporter: it evidences that what is about to be shipped comes from legal and reported catches. It is created in full before any consignment exists, and its critical point is not any single box but the order: there are two intermediate saves and a final submission that cannot be undone without starting again.
Phase 1 — Open the document and set who validates
- 1
Go to «Documents» → «CATCH»
Top-left menu on the home page.
- 2
Click the green «+ Catch Certificate» → «Create new Catch Certificate»
Top right. There is another option for paper certificates validated before 10-01-2026: if that is your case, this is not it.
- 3
Choose commodity codes in the pop-up
Search by nomenclature, section or species. Then «Search» and «Done».
- 4
Fill «Box 1» (Validating authority) and «Box 8» (Exporter)
Both use a «Name» field with a dropdown, or «Advanced» to search with filters and «Select». Box 8 supports starred favourites.
- 5
Click «Save as Draft»
Bottom right. From here the document exists and can be left unfinished.
Important
The first two mandatory fields do not describe the fish: they describe the parties. That is deliberate — without a validating authority and an exporter, the rest of the certificate has nobody to attribute it to. Pick the wrong authority and you find out at the end, when the document goes to the wrong place.
Phase 2 — The vessel, the catch and who signs for it
- 1
«Box 2»: click «Select fishing vessel»
With advanced search, or «+ Create a new Fishing vessel» if absent. This box also holds «Type of processing» and «Fishing licence no. – valid until».
- 2
«Box 3»: describe the product with «+ Add commodity» and «+ Add row»
One row per combination. Columns: Species · Fishing vessel · FAO area(s) · EEZ/high seas · Catch dates · weight.
- 3
«Box 4»: the applicable conservation measures
Free-text field.
- 4
«Box 5»: «+ Add master(s)» then «Select»
The master or licence holder. Fishing trips are picked by batch identifier.
- 5
Click «Save as Draft» again
Second save point. Worth using even if little remains.
Phase 3 — Transhipments, if any, and submission
- 1
From «Box 3», «+ Transhipment» → «+ Add transhipment at sea» for «Box 6»
Estimated weight, date, position in degrees-minutes-seconds and receiving vessel. Optionally «Add to Box 10».
- 2
Or «+ Add transhipment within a port» for «Box 7»
Port, date, port authority and receiving vessel.
- 3
Click «Submit to Vessel Masters»
Bottom right. This is the submission: the document now leaves your hands.
- 4
Check it lands in «NEW» status
With a serial number of the form «CATCH.CC.» followed by the country code.
Watch out
Transhipments are the most frequent cause of rejection and the least anticipated. For the supplier, changing vessel at sea is routine and goes unmentioned; for the certificate it is a box with a geographic position and a receiving vessel. If it was not asked at purchase, you stop here and go back to ask — with a half-finished document.
Worth knowing
Procedure verified in 2026-08 against the European Commission's official help (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/IMSOC/tracesnt-help), exporter catch certificate creation. TRACES is operated by the Commission and may change without notice. Whether this applies to you is for the competent authority and your adviser to determine.
›Can I leave it half-done?
Yes. «Save as Draft» exists at two points and the draft is kept.
›My certificate is on paper, from before 2026.
Then this is not the option: there is a specific one for those validated before 10-01-2026.
›What happens after «Submit to Vessel Masters»?
The document sits in «NEW» with its serial number and continues outside your control.
A real case
The situation
The wrong option is chosen for a 2025 paper certificate.
What you do
- Records the validation date before processing
What you get
You enter through the right option first time.
The situation
A transhipment surfaces with the document half-done.
What you do
- Asks about transhipments when closing the purchase
What you get
Box 6 or 7 is filled without stopping the process.
The situation
The vessel licence number and its expiry are missing.
What you do
- Requests licence and validity with the rest of the vessel data
What you get
Box 2 is completed in one go.
The situation
Nobody knows what was submitted or when after «Submit».
What you do
- Keeps the serial number and date in the file
What you get
The consignment has an identified document.
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