---
id: KB-AL-051
url: https://stage.codecontract.io/help/food-and-beverage/how-to-collect-from-third-parties-what-traces-will-ask-for
idioma: en
categoria: sector-alimentacion
subcategoria: normativa-pesca
audiencia: usuario
nivel: intermedio
actualizado: 2026-08-13
tambienEn: [es]
relacionados: [KB-AL-042, KB-AL-049, KB-CS-024]
citadoPor: [KB-AL-005, KB-AL-042, KB-AL-045]
---

# How to collect from third parties what TRACES will ask for

_The form takes a morning. The expensive part is the vessel owner, the warehouse and the lab answering in time._

**Responde a:** requesting documentation from fish suppliers · collecting vessel owner data for the certificate · how do i get catch data from my supplier · document control for fishery suppliers · chasing documentation for fish imports

Anyone who has run a full season processing in CATCH reaches the same conclusion: **the system was never the problem**. The previous articles describe where to click, and that is learned in an afternoon. What is not learned —what is suffered season after season— is that **almost everything you have to type is held by another company**, and that company does not work to your deadline.

## Who holds what, and why it takes so long

| Data | Who holds it | Why it takes time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vessel, licence and validity | The vessel owner | They are at sea |
| FAO area, dates, weights | The fishing log | It must be requested upstream |
| Transhipments and position | The master | **It never occurs to them to mention it** |
| Entry and exit weights | The warehouse, abroad | They do not know what it is for |
| A legible paper certificate | The exporter | They send a blurred scan |

> [!IMPORTANT]
> **None of the five rows depends on you, and you will be held to account for all five.** That is the sector's whole asymmetry: the responsibility is the importer's and the information is somebody else's. Any real improvement lies in how you ask, not in how you fill things in.

## What changes the response rate

1. **Ask when closing the purchase, not when processing** — At that moment the supplier wants paying and answers. Two weeks later, priorities differ.
2. **Ask for the specific data, not for «the documentation»** — «FAO area, catch dates and whether there was a transhipment» gets answered; «the paperwork» does not.
3. **Ask about transhipments explicitly** — The one data point that never appears on its own, because the supplier does not consider it documentation.
4. **State the format in the request itself** — Position in degrees-minutes-seconds; weights with a decimal point and no thousands separator.
5. **And record who sent what, and when** — If a figure turns out wrong, you need to know where it came from.

## And what the platform does about it

1. **Ask each third party through the channel that person uses** — A vessel owner answers a link on their phone; an email with an attachment, not so much.
2. **Chase without anybody writing the reminder** — Chasing is the work that least needs a person behind it.
3. **Gather everything in the consignment's file** — Which is how it gets asked about later: by shipment, not by supplier.
4. **And flag what is missing before the deadline, not after** — The gap shows while it can still be closed.

> [!WARNING]
> Be honest about the limit: **none of this makes a vessel owner answer from the sea**. What it does is ensure the request went out on day one, that chasing does not depend on somebody remembering, and that when the vessel reaches port there is a link waiting rather than a buried email. The improvement is not magic; it is calendar.

> [!NOTE]
> The specific requirements of each formality are described in the earlier articles in this series, verified in 2026-08 against https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/IMSOC/tracesnt-help. **What documentation you must require, from whom and with what scope is determined by the competent authority and your adviser** — here we cover how to obtain in time what you already know is needed.

**Can I compel a supplier to give me this data?**

That is contractual and a question for your adviser. What you can do is ask when you have leverage: at purchase.

**What if the supplier does not understand my request?**

Ask for the data in their language and through their channel. Much non-response is simply non-comprehension.

**Is recording who sent each figure worth it?**

The day a figure is wrong, it is the difference between correcting it and not knowing where it came from.

## Ejemplos

**The vessel owner replies when reaching port, ten days later.**

- Sends the request when closing the purchase, not when processing

→ A link waits for them instead of a buried email.

**Nobody asked about transhipments and they surface at the end.**

- Includes the explicit question in the initial request

→ Box 6 or 7 does not hold up the certificate.

**Weights arrive in a format the system rejects.**

- States the required format when requesting the data

→ It arrives usable first time.

**A figure turns out wrong and nobody knows who provided it.**

- Records author and date for every data point received

→ The correction goes to the right source.

**Documentation is filed by supplier and questions come by shipment.**

- Gathers everything in the consignment's file

→ It is answered where the question comes from.

**One person spends the season chasing by email.**

- Re-sends reminders without anybody writing them

→ That person goes back to their job.