A system of grading batches of fish, including crustacean shellfish and cephalopods, at port markets for freshness and size. The grades are specified in European Community Council Regulation No. 2406/96 and apply to almost all of the fish landed in the European Community. The fish must first be sorted into batches of similar size and freshness, and grades are allocated to the batches by inspectors. Four freshness grades of vertebrate fish are defined - Extra, A, B, C, and unfit; three, Extra, A, and B for Norway lobsters and cephalopods; and two, Extra and A for shrimps.