Anglers in salt water must record catches in app

What changes?

Do you work in recreational fishing, or do you sell fishing rods and fishing equipment? Or do you rent out boats to anglers? As of 10 January 2026 your customers must record their catches of seabass, eel, and bluefin tuna. This new European regulation applies to all salt waters in the EU. This includes Dutch coastal waters, the Fisheries Zone (Visserijzone) and the sea area.

What should your customer do?

Your customers have to register themselves and their catches via a special EU app. This obligation also applies if they are already registered with a sport fishing organisation or angling club. The app is called RecFishing and will be available free of charge for both iOS and Android.

Which fish species must be registered?

From 2026 your customers must register the following fish species:

• European seabass
• bluefin tuna
• European eel

Your customers can register other fish species in the app, but this is not mandatory.

Why this obligation?

The EU wants to improve their insight in the impact of recreational fishing on marine fish stocks. If catches are recorded the EU will be able to:

• promote sustainable fishing
• collect reliable data on how many and which fish they catch and release
• better substantiate catch limits and fish management measures

What data should anglers enter?

The app is still being developed, but it is likely that your customers will have to register the following data:

• the fishing gear they have used, for example a fishing rod
• where they caught the fish from: shore, boat, ice, underwater
• which fish species they caught
• the length and/or weight of the fish, in centimetres/grams
• whether they kept the fish or released it
• the location of the catch

Catch limits

Besides the mandatory registration of the aforementioned fish species, there are also catch limits for specific fish species. You can find all information on the app and the catch limits with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)

Recreational fishing abroad

Does you customer fish in salt water in another EU country? Registration is mandatory there as well. In some countries you can also use the RecFishing app but other countries use their own, local app. Which catches must be registered may vary from country to country.

For whom?

• entrepreneurs in recreational fishing
• angling shops
• rental companies of fishing boats or fishing equipment

When?

• The RecFishing app will be available in the App Store and Play Store from the end of December 2025 or the beginning of January 2026.
• The mandatory catch registration starts on 10 January 2026.

What can you already do?

• Inform your customers of this new obligation
• Keep an eye on RVO’s website for updates on the app and registration.
• Share this information through your available channels, so anglers are well prepared.
• Request brochures with information for anglers. You can do so by sending an email to recreatievevisserij@rvo.nl. The brochures are available in Dutch and German. In your email you specify how many brochures you would like to receive and where they should be sent. You will receive the flyers from January 2026.