---
id: KB-AL-049
url: https://stage.codecontract.io/help/food-and-beverage/how-to-declare-transhipments-in-a-catch-certificate
idioma: en
categoria: sector-alimentacion
subcategoria: normativa-pesca
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-AL-044, KB-AL-048, KB-AL-042]
citadoPor: [KB-LG-011, KB-AL-044, KB-AL-048, KB-AL-051]
---

# How to declare transhipments in a catch certificate in TRACES

_At sea it goes in Box 6, in port in Box 7. Nobody will mention it: for the supplier it is routine._

**Responde a:** transhipment at sea catch certificate · box 6 box 7 transhipment traces · declaring a vessel change in catch · transhipment within a port fisheries documentation · catch certificate rejected over transhipment

A transhipment means the catch changed vessel before reaching the destination port. For the supplier it is a routine operation not worth mentioning; **for the catch certificate it is a mandatory box with a geographic position**. That asymmetry —routine for one, requirement for the other— is why transhipments are the most frequent cause of rejection and the least anticipated.

## Two boxes, two sets of data

| Aspect | Box 6 — at sea | Box 7 — within a port |
| --- | --- | --- |
| When | Goods pass vessel to vessel at sea | The transfer happens in a port facility |
| What it asks | Estimated weight, date, **position**, receiving vessel | Port, date, **port authority**, receiving vessel |
| Special format | **Degrees-minutes-seconds** | — |
| Who knows | The master | The master and the port |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **Position in degrees-minutes-seconds is the data that never arrives first time.** A vessel owner describing the transhipment over the phone will tell you roughly where; the certificate wants coordinates. If it is not requested in that explicit format, something unusable arrives and you go back to ask — to somebody who may be at sea again.

## How to declare a transhipment at sea

1. **From «Box 3», click «+ Transhipment»** — Transhipments hang off the product description; they are not a separate section.
2. **Choose «+ Add transhipment at sea»** — The option corresponding to Box 6.
3. **Fill estimated weight, date, position and receiving vessel** — Position in degrees-minutes-seconds.
4. **If applicable, click «Add to Box 10»** — Optional and case-dependent.

## How to declare a transhipment within a port

1. **From «Box 3», click «+ Transhipment»** — Same entry point.
2. **Choose «+ Add transhipment within a port»** — The Box 7 option.
3. **Fill port, date, port authority and receiving vessel** — No coordinates here: the port identifies the place.

> [!WARNING]
> The question to ask at purchase, and almost nobody does: **«did the goods change vessel at any point?»**. Put that way it gets answered. Put as «send me the documentation» it never surfaces, because the supplier does not consider a transhipment to be documentation — it is logistics. And when it surfaces, it surfaces with the certificate half-done and the vessel out of reach.

> [!NOTE]
> **Procedure verified in 2026-08** against the European Commission's official help (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/IMSOC/tracesnt-help), transhipments in the catch certificate. 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.

**Must every transhipment be declared?**

Scope is determined by the competent authority; the system records them in Box 6 and Box 7.

**What format does the position use?**

Degrees, minutes and seconds.

**Where are the buttons?**

Inside «Box 3», under «+ Transhipment».

## Ejemplos

**The transhipment surfaces with the certificate half-done.**

- Asks about transhipments when closing the purchase

→ The box is filled without stopping the process.

**The vessel owner gives the position as «near the Canaries».**

- Requests position in degrees, minutes and seconds

→ The data the system accepts arrives.

**It is unclear whether it happened at sea or in port.**

- Records the transhipment type with the rest of the data

→ Choosing between Box 6 and Box 7 is straightforward.

**The certificate is rejected and nobody knows why.**

- Keeps the supplier's answer about transhipments

→ The cause is located without reconstruction.