NOTE TO THE COMPETENT AUTHORITIES OF THE MEMBER STATES
RECOMMENDATION ON THE MONITORING OF THE PRESENCE OF I-131, CS-134 AND CS-137 IN FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS (AND DERIVED/PROCESSED PRODUCTS THEREOF) ORIGINATING IN/CAUGHT IN CERTAIN FISHING AREAS OF THE PACIFIC REGION UPDATE TO RASFF NEWS NOTIFICATION 11-653-add 11 dd. 16 APRIL 2011 AND 11-653-add 15 dd. 27 APRIL 2011
The Member States agreed at the meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health on Wednesday 23 November 2011 to replace the recommendation in RASFF NEWS NOTIFICATION 11-653-add11 and 11-653-add15 on the monitoring of the presence of I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 in fish and fishery products (and derived /processed products thereof) originating in/caught in certain fishing areas of the Pacific region.
In particular the outcome of the EU-Japan meeting held on 3 October 2011 to assess the risk to marine environment from Fukushima has been taken into account. The report of the meeting is enclosed as annex. .
The recommendation in RASFF NEWS NOTIFICATION 11-653-add11 and 11-653-add15 on the monitoring of the presence of I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 in fish and fishery products (and derived /processed products thereof) originating in/caught in certain fishing areas of the Pacific region is replaced by the following:
Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111 Office: B232 - 4/29 - Tel. direct line +32 229-56359 - Fax +32 229-91856
RECOMMENDATION ON THE MONITORING OF THE PRESENCE CS-134 AND CS-137 IN FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS (AND DERIVED/PROCESSED PRODUCTS THEREOF) ORIGINATING IN/CAUGHTIN CERTAIN FISHING AREAS OF THE PACIFIC REGION
In addition to the controls performed in application of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2011 of 27 September 2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station1, as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1371/20112, the European Commission recommends the Member States to monitor on an at random basis for the presence of Caesium-134 and Caesium-137 migratory pelagic fish in FAO Major Fishing Area 61 and derived/processed products thereof (see map in annex to this note)
Migratory pelagic fish species of relevance are the
- tuna (albacore, bluefin, bigeye and skipjack)
- billfishes (swordfish and marlin)
In view of identifying fishery products originating in or coming from the abovementioned FAO Major Fishing Areas, the attention of the Member States is drawn on specific provisions foreseen by the IUU Regulation3. More precisely, fishery products (not including certain products listed in Annex I to Commission Regulation 202/2011) shall only be imported into the EU when accompanied by a catch certificate. This certificate requires specifying the catch area(s), relevant to the fisheries rules at stake, and the catch dates.
Member States are requested to report all the analytical results obtained following this recommendation in the monthly report as provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 961/2011.
The European Commission will closely follow-up the situation and share the reported analytical results with the Member States. Based on these analytical results, in case of need, further appropriate measures might be considered to ensure a high level of human health protection in the EU