Article 12Catch certificates
1.The importation into the Community of fishery products obtained from IUU fishing shall be prohibited.
2.To ensure the effectiveness of the prohibition established in paragraph 1, fishery products shall only be imported into the Community when accompanied by a catch certificate in conformity with this Regulation.
3.The catch certificate referred to in paragraph 2 shall be validated by the flag State of the fishing vessel or fishing vessels which made the catches from which the fishery products have been obtained. It shall be used to certify that such catches have been made in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and international conservation and management measures.
4.The catch certificate shall contain all the information specified in the specimen shown in Annex II, and shall be validated by a public authority of the flag State with the necessary powers to attest the accuracy of the information. In agreement with flag States, within the framework of the cooperation set out in Article 20(4), the catch certificate may be established, validated or submitted by electronic means or be replaced by electronic traceability systems ensuring the same level of control by authorities.
5.The list in Annex I of the products excluded from the scope of implementation of the catch certificate may be reviewed each year on the basis of the results of the information gathered under Chapters II, III, IV, V, VIII, X and XII, and amended in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2).