The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) today opens a second round of public consultation on its proposals for improving its Chain of Custody (CoC) program for seafood traceability.

The online consultation will close on 15 September 2014.

This program ensures that the MSC ecolabel is only displayed on seafood from an MSC certified sustainable fishery. It means that consumers and seafood buyers can have confidence that the fish they are buying comes from a fishery that meets MSC's stringent standards for sustainability.

Invitation to review new standards

This is the second, and final, opportunity for stakeholders to offer their expertise, and to help make decisions on the proposed changes to the CoC program. During the 45 days of online public consultation, stakeholders will be invited to review and comment on the new CoC standard and certification requirements, which aims to deliver an integrated program for greater clarity, consistency and integrity.

Meeting global best practice in standard setting

The CoC program is core to the MSC’s mission to use market-based mechanisms to promote sustainable fishing practices. The system enables the use of a consumer-facing ecolabel on products from certified fisheries, which in turn promotes consumer awareness.

During 2014, the MSC has committed to undertake periodic reviews of its CoC standard in order to ensure its program remains relevant to stakeholders and continues to meet international best practice. This is in line with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) ecolabelling guidelines and the International Social, Environment, Accreditation and Labelling Alliance (ISEAL) standard setting code.

An early stage public consultation on the CoC program took place between March and April this year. Based on early stakeholder feedback, the MSC has launched a final round of public consultation to agree on the proposed CoC program changes. A new CoC standard and certification requirements will be presented together with the consumer-facing organisations standard, which should enable greater growth for food service companies. The new standards are expected to come into force from June 2015.

How to take part in the consultation

The second round of public consultation is open from 1 August and closes on 15 September 2014. Get involved with the Chain of Custody Program Review