Sport fishermen will have to record their catches in a mobile application from 2026 and the European Union has created a working group to discuss these issues, in which Portugal is represented.
“[…] Starting in January 2026, recreational fishermen must record and report their catches through an electronic system (in the form of a mobile application) and will be developed by the Member State or the European Union,” reads a note from the Directorate General of Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services (DGRM).
This obligation arises after the publication of a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council, which introduces new obligations for recreational fishing.
In Portugal, the electronic record of catches will cover all types of recreational, leisure, sport, maritime-tourist and underwater fishing, on land, from a boat or submerged.
The technical specifications of the application are being discussed and the European Union has created the Recreational Fishing Working Group for this purpose.
This group includes technicians from the DGRM, the Regional Fisheries and Maritime Uses Inspectorate of the Azores and the Regional Directorate of Fisheries/Regional Fisheries Inspectorate of Madeira.
Source: Observadora
