The MSC Standards

 

The MSC Fisheries Standard

The MSC Fisheries Standard is used to determine if a fishery is well-managed and sustainable. It is applied equally to fisheries around the world, regardless of species, fishing method, environment, or size. To become MSC certified, fisheries voluntarily apply to be assessed against the Standard. It’s open to all fisheries that catch marine or freshwater organisms in the wild. This includes most types of fish and shellfish. If they're successful, they can then sell their catch with the MSC blue fish label. The MSC Fishery Standard is updated every five years. We recently released our newest version. Read more about it here.

The MSC Chain of Custody Standard
The MSC Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard does two main things: (1) It provides assurance that certified fish and seafood products are kept separate from non-MSC certified products throughout the supply chain. (2) It ensures that certified companies have procedures in place so certified fish and seafood products can be traced back to MSC certified sustainable fisheries. To achieve and maintain CoC certification, businesses are regularly assessed against the Standard by an independent third-party certification body.




The ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard
The joint ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard rewards environmentally sustainable and socially responsible seaweed production. It is open to cultured and wild harvest seaweed operations worldwide. 

The MSC Standards meet international best practice guidelines for certification and ecolabeling. The Standards were developed through consultation with the fishing industry, scientists, conservationists, experts, and stakeholders.