How to Start Applying for Fish and Seafood Catch Certificates in Canada

A catch certificate is a government-validated document attesting that fish and fish products come from legal fisheries. For exports to the European Union, the requirement comes from the European Union system to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, formally Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, under which exporting countries must provide a government-validated catch certificate attesting that fish and fish products originate from non-IUU (legal) fisheries, according to European Union (EU) - Export requirements for fish and seafood. In Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is the competent authority that issues catch certificates, through the Catch Certification Office and the Fisheries Certificate System (FCS), on the same Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) page. Fisheries Certificate System (FCS) - User manual states that DFO is the competent authority solely responsible for administering Canada's Catch Certification Program, and that the program was created in response to the European Union's illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing regulation implemented January 1, 2010. This guide walks through applying for and retrieving a catch certificate in FCS: registering the company, choosing the certificate type, completing the application, waiting for approval, and converting the approved certificate to the destination country.

State plainly what this guide is not. It covers export catch certification only: proving, for a shipment bound for the European Union, the United Kingdom, Ukraine or Japan, that the product came from legal, reported and regulated fisheries. It is not a guide to reporting lost fishing gear. Reporting gear lost at sea is a separate DFO process for harvesters, with its own system and purpose; it does not produce an export catch certificate, and FCS is not the route for it. This guide also does not cover the CFIA health certificate for European Union exports, the export declaration, customs reporting, or Safe Food for Canadians licensing. Those sit beside the catch certificate in an export file, and each has its own process and its own office. Where a shipment needs both a catch certificate and a CFIA export certificate, treat them as two separate applications, not as one form.

Work in the order the system imposes. Registration and, where needed, grouping approval come first, because no certificate application is accepted from a company that has not registered, and no Group-Based certificate can be created until a grouping is approved. The destination country comes last, because it is chosen only when the approved certificate is converted at download.

1. Confirm the certificate applies to your product and destination

Start with destination, not with the form. Sustainable fish and seafood states that all of Canada's fish exports to the European Union, United Kingdom, Ukraine and Japan are accompanied by a catch certificate, and that the program certifies that Canadian product was caught in legal, regulated and reported fisheries. Fisheries Certificate System (FCS) - User manual states the same scope for FCS itself: the system is designed for Canadian processors and exporters of fish and seafood products to apply for and retrieve catch certificates for the European Union, United Kingdom, Ukraine and Japan, required by those jurisdictions to attest that exported products originated from legal, reported and regulated fisheries. If the destination is outside that list, the official pages do not show a DFO catch certificate as the requirement. Check the destination market's own requirements with the importer before assuming this guide applies, and do not broaden it into general export advice.

Then check the product. For European Union exports, the CFIA page states that the regulation generally includes all marine fishery products, including live, fresh, chilled, frozen, prepared and preserved product forms, and that all freshwater fisheries and aquaculture products are exempt, as well as some forms of molluscs such as scallops, mussels, oysters and snails. Annex I of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008 has the list of fishery products excluded from the scope of the catch certificate, on the same page. Do not guess from the exemption wording alone whether a particular product is in or out: read Annex I for the product, and confirm with the Catch Certification Program Operations Centre where the listing is unclear. The CFIA page also notes that seal products are ineligible for European Union export certificates for fish and seafood, which is a separate eligibility point from the catch certificate exemption list. Keep the two checks apart: one asks whether the product can be exported to the European Union at all, the other asks whether it needs a catch certificate.

2. Register the company in the Fisheries Certificate System

No certificate application is accepted from an unregistered company. Fisheries Certificate System (FCS) - User manual states that a company account is required to log in to FCS and to apply for certificates, that applications will not be accepted from a company that has not previously registered in FCS, and that the registration request should be made by an individual who has authority to sign on behalf of the company and who will be actively involved in the catch certificate process. An approved request creates the company account and profile, establishes the Applicant Manager for the company, and provides FCS login credentials for the Applicant Manager. Only one Applicant Manager is allowed per company, and only the Applicant Manager can create additional user accounts for the company, on the same page. Frequently Asked Questions states the same gate in one sentence: all registration requests must be approved by the Catch Certification Program's Operations Centre before you apply for a catch certificate.

Sign in with a GCKey or a Sign-in Partner, exactly as the portal's own pages state it. Frequently Asked Questions states that, to register, you click Continue to Fisheries Certificate System on the Certify your catch for export page, are redirected to the Fisheries Certificate System home page, select a preferred language, read the Introduction page and click Continue, and are then redirected to a secure sign-in page where you will either sign in using a Sign-in Partner or register for a GCKey. Once registered for a GCKey, you are redirected to an FCS registration page. Fisheries Certificate System (FCS) - User manual describes the same choice as clicking either Continue to Sign-In Partner or Continue to GCKey, then creating a GCKey username, password and recovery questions where the GCKey route is chosen, followed by self-registration. The pages name no CRA credential and no My Canada Business Account for FCS. Do not expect a CRA sign-in or a business account sign-in to open this system. Anyone accessing FCS must have their own user account: where the company is already registered, a person without an account asks the Applicant Manager to create one through the Applicants/Exporters menu, according to the Frequently Asked Questions page.

Complete the company registration in FCS, then complete the paper that follows it. The user manual states that the person registering can fill in all fields under Company Details manually, or enter the Business Number assigned by the Canada Revenue Agency and click Get BN Information to auto-populate the rest of the company information, and that in all cases the information submitted is verified when the registration request is reviewed by the Catch Certification Program's Operations Manager. After submitting the registration request, a system-generated email carries a link to the Terms and Conditions of Use and Delegation of Authority form. The Applicant Manager must complete that form, and the original must be mailed to the Catch Certification Program Operations Centre, although a faxed or emailed copy is accepted until the original is received, according to the user manual. Use of FCS cannot commence until the Operations Centre receives the form, according to the Frequently Asked Questions page, which also states that the signed Delegation of Authority must be sent to the address provided on the form. Proof of signing authority is required as well: the manual gives two ways to provide it, a company seal with the signature of a signing authority, or confirmation of company registration issued by the applicable federal or provincial government agency showing the Applicant Manager with signing authority. Mail the original to the Operations Manager, Catch Certification Program Operations Centre, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, PO Box 99, Tignish, PE, C0B 2B0, by fax to 902-775-7100, or by email to DFO.CCP-PCC.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca, as listed in the manual. Keep the signed form and the proof together: registration is not complete on the online submission alone.

Allow time. The service standard for registration requests is 10 business days once all information has been received, according to the user manual, and the Frequently Asked Questions page lists the same 10 business day standard. The CFIA page uses different wording, warning that approval of registration and company profiles can take up to 2 to 3 weeks to be entered in the system, and telling exporters to register and create company profiles well in advance of applying for a catch certificate. Plan a first shipment around the longer CFIA caution, not the shorter standard. For help registering or signing up for a GCKey, the Frequently Asked Questions page gives the Operations Centre email DFO.CCP-PCC.MPO@dfo-mpo.gc.ca and telephone 1-888-641-6464, and Certify your catch for export lists the same toll-free number, fax 902-775-7100, and email.

3. Choose the certificate type that matches how the product was sourced

FCS offers four application types, and the choice turns on sourcing, not on preference. Fisheries Certificate System (FCS) - User manual lists them as a Standard catch certificate application, a Group-Based catch certificate application, a Foreign Export catch certificate application, and a Grouping Request application, and states that the type chosen is based on how the product is sourced. Do not select the destination country at this stage: when creating an application, you do not select the country the product is to be exported to, because the export country is selected only by the exporter once a consignment is ready to be shipped, through the Convert function, on the same page.

Use the Standard form where the catch came from one vessel. The manual states that the Standard form is used when the catch is sourced from only one vessel, requires the vessel name, vessel registration number, home port, applicable fishing licence number, licence expiry date and call sign, and allows only one vessel on a Standard certificate. Because this type is highly traceable, it is the optimal method to apply for a catch certificate, on the same page. Frequently Asked Questions states the same recommendation: the Standard certificate should be used whenever possible as it provides the most traceability. Each catch landed by a vessel of over 100 feet (30.48 metres) in length requires a Standard certificate, according to the manual. Start here unless the sourcing facts force another form.

Use the Group-Based form where the catch comes from an approved grouping. The manual states that the Group-Based form is a variation of the Standard form for situations where the catch is based on a previously approved grouping, chosen when sourcing from a group of vessels, buyers, Aboriginal communities or fishers, and that before a Group-Based certificate can be created, a grouping must first be created by applying for a Grouping Request. The Frequently Asked Questions page states that Group-Based use is limited to special circumstances, that groupings are approved by the Operations Centre on a case by case basis depending on the type of fishery, and that a Group-Based certificate includes groups of vessels, communities, fishers or buyers that need to be approved for use by the Operations Centre. Groupings must be renewed on an annual basis or as often as required, and must be revised where sourcing changes to new vessels, fishers or buyers, on the same page. Vessels over 30.48 metres cannot be used in a grouping, although a written request can be submitted to the Operations Centre to have a vessel used for inshore or mid-shore fishing added to a list of exceptions, according to the Frequently Asked Questions page. A grouping request carries a 10 business day service standard, and a grouping request update carries a 2 business day standard, according to the manual. Build that approval time into the first Group-Based shipment; it is separate from the certificate approval time.

Use the Foreign Export form where the product was imported into Canada and is being re-exported. The manual states that this type is required for product imported from a foreign country and subsequently re-exported from Canada, and that it is referred to as a processing statement under Annex IV in the EU Regulation. European Union (EU) - Export requirements for fish and seafood states the same route from the CFIA side: Canadian exporters who import raw materials or fishery products from a third country and export them to the European Union can use FCS to apply for a Foreign Catch Export Certificate. The Foreign Export application asks for the plant where the product was processed in Canada, the final product, and the identifying numbers of all foreign catch certificates received from non-Canadian companies that apply to the shipment, with a minimum of one certificate mandatory, according to the manual. Have the foreign certificate numbers, issuing countries, validation dates and weights ready before starting: the Certificates tab cannot be completed without them.

4. Complete the Standard application, tab by tab

The steps below follow the Standard form, which the manual presents as the optimal method. Group-Based and Foreign Export forms share the Detail, Catch, Transport and Import structure with their own tabs, and the manual gives separate instructions for each; do not force Standard tab names onto another form. In every FCS application, only blue fields are mandatory, and the manual warns against using the browser Back or Forward buttons, which may cause errors: use only the buttons within the system. Saving a record stores the information entered but does not submit the application; a saved application can be edited later, while a submitted application cannot be changed without contacting the Operations Centre, according to the manual.

Start from Create Application, select the Application Type, and click Continue. The manual states that the application will be for a Canadian catch certificate, with the destination country selected later by the final exporting company. Work through the tabs in order. On the Detail tab, enter an optional application description for tracking, the exportation date, and whether you are the exporter selling the product outside Canada, followed, where the answer is yes, by whether the product is being exported directly to the country for which the certificate is intended. The manual stresses that the answer must reflect the chain of custody (ownership), rather than transport or location: a shipment sold to a United States company before export from Canada to Ukraine counts as an indirect export even though the product never enters the United States. Answer the transhipment and re-export questions on the same tab. Transhipment means a consignment transferred to another vessel at sea or in a port and continuing to its final destination, and re-export means a consignment exported to the certificate country and then re-exported by that country to another foreign country, on the same page.

On the Catch tab, enter the catch information for the shipment. The manual lists the fields as references of management measures, with the Fisheries Act selected as the default regulation, the CFIA health certificate number, which is recommended but not mandatory for Standard and Group-Based applications, the species and Taxonomic Serial Number code selected through Lookup, estimated live weight, estimated landing weight or verified landing weight in kilograms, the management area harvested, catch start and end dates, the Harmonized System code selected through Lookup, and the product weight, which should match the estimated live or estimated landing weight. Add further catch areas, products or species with the Add buttons where the consignment needs them. Use the Lookup tables for vessels, species, products, countries, communities and home ports: for some fields, including home port and Harmonized System code, use of the Lookup feature is mandatory, according to the manual. On the Vessel tab, identify the single vessel with the name, registration number, home port, fishing licence number, licence expiry date and call sign. Complete the Transhipment, Transport, Import and Diagram tabs and the Re-Export tab where they apply to the shipment, then review the whole application for accuracy, read and agree to the declarations listed, and submit. The system notifies you of errors or omissions, and you receive an email with the application's service standard, according to the manual.

5. Wait for approval, retrieve the certificate, and convert it

Approval times depend on the product and the export date. Frequently Asked Questions lists the service standards as 10 business days for registration requests, 10 business days for grouping requests, 2 hours for a priority catch certificate for fresh products shipped by air or exported on the application date, 48 hours for a catch certificate for processed products shipped by sea or exported after the application date, and 14 business days for all fax or mail requests starting on the day the request is received at the Operations Centre. Fisheries Certificate System (FCS) - User manual states the certificate standards in slightly different words: 2 hours for fresh and live products or product exported on the day of application, if submitted prior to 18:00 Atlantic Time, and 48 hours for processed and frozen products or product exported after the day of application. Submit a same-day fresh shipment before 18:00 Atlantic Time to fall inside the 2 hour standard as the manual words it. Where FCS is unavailable, the Frequently Asked Questions page states that the Operations Centre informs users of scheduled maintenance in advance, and that a backup application process is put in place for urgent certificate requests where the system is unexpectedly unavailable: contact the Operations Centre for details rather than waiting out an outage. For an urgent designation, the manual states that the registered FCS applicant must send a request to the Catch Certification Program by email, that email requests must be received before 20:00 Atlantic Time, and that any other requests, including applications submitted after 18:00 Atlantic Time, are processed the next business day.

Retrieve the approved certificate from Manage Documents, under Certificates, where validated and approved catch certificates are held, according to the manual. Then convert it. Only the final exporter converts, and only at download. The manual states that the final exporter has the option to convert the Canadian catch certificate to the required country-specific certificate based on the export destination, using the Convert function at the time of downloading the certificate for use. Select the certificate, click the Download icon, and select the country of destination: Canada, EU, Ukraine or Japan. Where the product is remaining in Canada, click Download and save or open the PDF. Where EU, Ukraine or Japan is selected, click Convert, confirm, and download the country-specific certificate in PDF format. That certificate has a different document number from the Canadian certificate used to create it, and it is the certificate to present to the importer, according to the manual. You cannot print a copy of the original Canadian certificate after it has been converted, and the original remains in Converted status, so print the Canadian certificate for your records first where a copy is needed before conversion. Once converted, the country cannot be changed: contact the Operations Centre where a change is unavoidable, and convert only to the required country format at the time of export, according to the manual. For indirect shipments, ask the importer which country certificate is required and convert accordingly: a shipment going to the United States and then on to the European Union needs an EU certificate, on the same page.

After approval, the certificate may still move between companies in the chain. Forwarding is used where product requiring a catch certificate is sold to another Canadian company before export: select the approved certificate under Manage Documents, Certificates, click Forward, choose the receiving company from the list of companies registered in FCS, and click Forward Certificate, according to the manual. The certificate then sits in Forwarding status, can no longer be downloaded by the forwarding company, and belongs to the receiving company once accepted. Where a certificate was forwarded to the wrong company and has not been accepted, recall it from the same menu; where it has been accepted, the receiving company must have it retracted through the Operations Centre, and the Frequently Asked Questions page gives the same rule with the document number required. A company that accepts a forwarded certificate uses the Resale or Reissue functions to make changes before using it as its own, with weights only staying the same or decreasing on resale, and species, management area and catch dates read-only, according to the manual. Post-issuance audits are a separate check after the certificate exists: the manual states that the Catch Certification Audit Office is responsible for post-issuance audits and for checking that information provided at application was true, accurate and complete, and the Frequently Asked Questions page gives its telephone number as 1-866-733-6676 and email as ccoauditbvcc@dfo-mpo.gc.ca. Keep the application record, the converted certificate, and the foreign certificates behind a Foreign Export application together: the audit office works from what was filed.

6. Correct, copy or renew without starting over where the rules allow

An approved certificate with wrong information is not fixed by editing it. Frequently Asked Questions states that you must first cancel the original by contacting the Operations Centre by email or telephone, giving the Document ID of the original and the reason it will not be used, then create a new application with the correct information, and that only the FCS Delegated Manager can cancel catch certificates for the company. The same page distinguishes Copy from Reissue: copy where weights on the Catch tab need to be increased, or to reuse source or product information from a previous application or certificate; reissue to change the exportation date, to change direct export to indirect export or the reverse, to add a health certificate number, to decrease weights, or to change transport or import information. After copying a certificate, contact the Operations Centre to cancel the original where applicable. Foreign Export certificates cannot be reissued: copy the application to make corrections, on the same page. Fisheries Certificate System (FCS) - User manual adds that reissued Standard and Group-Based certificates are automatically approved and immediately available under Manage Documents, Certificates, and that a copied certificate needs the exportation date, importer date, weight fields and catch dates re-entered before submission. Do not copy a certificate forwarded to you by another company: the manual states that the Copy function is only available for certificates for which you were the original applicant, and that forwarded certificates use Resale or Reissue so source information cannot be changed inadvertently.

Renew groupings before they lapse. Groupings must be renewed on an annual basis or as often as required, and revised where sourcing changes, according to the Frequently Asked Questions page. Renew from Manage Documents, Groupings, by highlighting the grouping and selecting Renew, and add or remove a vessel or fisher through the same renewal function, submitting the renewed grouping to the Operations Centre for approval. Where a forwarded certificate was accepted and its groupings have expired, the company that forwarded it must forward another certificate with renewed groupings, on the same page. Note the renewal date at approval: an expired grouping discovered at application time costs the grouping approval standard on top of the certificate standard.

Related guides:

• How to Start Reporting Lost Fishing Gear to DFO in Canada — the separate DFO process for harvesters reporting gear lost at sea; this guide covers export catch certification for processors and exporters, not lost-gear reporting
• How to Import and Export Goods in Canada — the general importing and exporting process; this guide covers only the DFO catch certificate that accompanies fish and seafood exports to the European Union, United Kingdom, Ukraine and Japan
• How to Start Reporting Exports Through the Canadian Export Reporting System in Canada — export declarations through the Canadian Export Reporting System; this guide covers the separate DFO catch certificate, not the export declaration
• How to Start Doing Business with the CFIA Through My CFIA in Canada — dealing with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency through My CFIA; this guide covers the DFO Fisheries Certificate System, a different system with a different sign-in
• How to Get a Business Number in Canada: the CRA BN Explained — obtaining a Business Number; this guide covers FCS registration, where a Business Number can auto-populate company details but is not the FCS sign-in credential

Sources

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Certify your catch for export — that the Fisheries Certificate System is designed for Canadian processors and exporters to apply for and retrieve catch certificates, the Processing Plant Designation Form listing, and Operations Centre contact details
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Frequently Asked Questions — GCKey and Sign-in Partner registration, service standards, Standard versus Group-Based certificates, indirect exports, grouping renewal, and correcting approved certificates
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Fisheries Certificate System (FCS) - User manual — the Catch Certification Program structure, registration and proof of signing authority, the four application types, Standard application tabs, service standards, and the Convert, Forward, Recall, Resale, Copy and Reissue functions
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sustainable fish and seafood — that all fish exports to the European Union, United Kingdom, Ukraine and Japan are accompanied by a catch certificate
• Canadian Food Inspection Agency, European Union (EU) - Export requirements for fish and seafood — the European Union illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing regulation, DFO as competent authority, the Foreign Catch Export Certificate, product exemptions, and the warning to register well in advance

No fee amount for a catch certificate or for Fisheries Certificate System registration was stated on any official page, so this guide states none: do not budget from an assumed fee, and confirm any charge with the Catch Certification Program Operations Centre before relying on a cost figure. The following were also cut because they could not be verified on an official page : any validity period for an approved catch certificate; the contents of the July 2026 European Union flexibilities notice and the licence-holder signature change notice listed on the Certify your catch for export page, beyond their titles; the contents of the Processing Plant Designation Form, beyond its existence as a listed form; any audit timeline or audit outcome for the Catch Certification Audit Office, beyond its audit role and contact details; the full list of excluded products in Annex I of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008, beyond the freshwater, aquaculture and named mollusc exemptions stated on the CFIA page; whether a Safe Food for Canadians licence is required for the catch certificate itself, as distinct from the CFIA health certificate; and any separate United Kingdom conversion label in the Convert function, beyond the manual's statement that certificates are for the European Union, United Kingdom, Ukraine and Japan and the conversion options of Canada, EU, Ukraine or Japan shown in the manual. Check the DFO pages linked above, or contact the Operations Centre, before relying on any of those points.