DOCAPESCA approves new regulation for fish containers in mainland fish auctions

DOCAPESCA — Portos e Lotas, S. A. has approved the new Regulation for the Use and Management of Fish Packaging Containers, published as Regulation No. 1232/2026 in the Diário da República, 2nd series, No. 193, of October 6, 2026. The decree establishes the rules for the provision, sanitization, return, and fees of the polyethylene crates used in mainland fish auctions and enters into force on the working day following its publication.

The regulation replaces Regulation No. 298/2024, of March 18, revoked by Article 15, maintaining the previous structure with updates to terminology, normative clarity, and operational context suitability. The proposal was approved by a resolution of the DOCAPESCA Board of Directors on July 7, 2026, and submitted for public consultation via Notice (extract) No. 18697/2026, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, of July 28, 2026.

The text is signed by the company’s Board of Directors — Afonso Gonçalves da Silva Oliveira (President), Isabel Maria Ribeiro Tavares Esteves (Member), and Márcia Isabel Duarte Passos Resende (Member) —, dated September 23, 2026. DOCAPESCA is a public limited company with exclusively public capital that is part of the State Business Sector and exclusively ensures the first auction sale of all fresh fish landed at mainland ports.

Two types of crates and mandatory use in the first sale

The regulation applies to fish packaging containers made of high-density polyethylene, identified with the designation “DOCAPESCA,” which are the property of the company and part of its fixed assets. It distinguishes between two types of containers:

• Orange or white crate, food-grade, intended for the packaging of fish traded at auction;
• Blue crate, reserved as a support for the former as a hygienic-sanitary control measure.

All fish sold at auction by tender must be packaged in these crates; the use of any other container within the premises is not permitted, except in exceptional, occasional situations previously authorized by the Ports and Auctions director of the respective geographical area. In situations of shortage or stockout, containers from producers or producer organizations are permitted, provided they are food-compliant and properly sanitized.

Return deadlines and applicable fees

Producers request the crates at the designated locations and must deliver an equal number to the scale on the day of the request. Containers collected in excess and not returned are invoiced with a loss fee, deducted from the day’s catch or future catches, and refunded to the producers if the containers are returned within five working days after the processing of the catch.

Merchants may only use the containers to pack fish and must return them as soon as they transfer the product to their own boxes or those of their customers. Exceptionally, to avoid excessive handling and loss of quality, they may use them outside the premises of the fish auctions or fishing ports, for a maximum period of two business days from the acquisition or collection of the fish. Any delay generates a fee for each day, and DOCAPESCA may refuse the return of boxes that are visibly non-compliant — containing cement, soil, or oils, among others —, considering them lost.

Deposits, sanitization, and internal control

Producers who wish to have containers for their own management must request them and pay a deposit for each unit provided, with a maximum validity of three years; the total or partial return in good condition before the end of the term entitles them to the return of the corresponding deposit. Each fish auction must record and control the movement of boxes daily and perform an annual balance of fixed assets:

• Boxes delivered to or received from the producer;
• Boxes collected by or delivered to the merchant;
• Boxes on loan, in stock, and non-operational.

All returned containers must be sanitized before reuse, with a separation between boxes to be sanitized and those already sanitized. The scrapping of boxes requires notification to the Tax Authority by the Financial Directorate 15 days in advance. A fee is due for sanitization and provision, approved annually by the Board of Directors in the Specific Tariff Regulation, applied within the premises to vessels, producers, and merchants, and outside the premises to merchants.

The new regulation standardizes the management of a central asset of the mainland fish auctions and holds workers and operators accountable for the circuit of the boxes, with short return deadlines and deterrent fees for loss. For fishers, merchants, and auctions, it becomes clearer what can be used in the first sale, how much it costs, and within what timeframe the boxes must return.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 193, of October 6, 2026, Part G — Public companies (official reference: Regulation no. 1232/2026).