Eligibility dates - Summary
“I source from a fishery going through assessment.
When can I sell its fish as ‘MSC’?”
It is now possible for fish accumulated while a fishery is under assessment to carry the MSC ecolabel once that fishery is certified.
To do this, the company that is the First Point of Sale after Landing (FPSL) - for example, a processor or a company taking possession of the fish directly after landing - must have had an on-site audit as part of its Chain of Custody certification prior to taking possession of the fish. That company cannot, however, actually get Chain of Custody certification for that fish until the fishery that supplied it is certified. This means it may not sell the fish onwards as MSC-certified until the fishery that supplier it is certified.
Once the fishery is certified and the FPSL company obtains Chain of Custody certification (or a scope extension to an existing certificate) they may then sell the fish to their clients as MSC certified.
If you want your company to become the First Point of Sale after Landing, you need to find out how the certifier has defined the First Point of Landing. For this, we recommend you contact the fishery and their certifier directly.
No fish may be sold or promoted as ‘MSC certified’ until the origin fishery is certified.
What is the Target Eligibility Date?
The Target Eligibility Date (TED) is a date defined by the fishery certifier at the start of the full assessment of a fishery. Any fish caught after this date will be eligible to carry the MSC ecolabel if the fishery is eventually certified and provided the rules about Eligibility Dates are met.
The TED may be up to a maximum of six months back from the fishery certifier’s estimate of when the Public Comment Draft Report (see glossary) will be published as part of the fishery’s assessment process.
The TED is subject to change, depending on the actual date the fishery certifier publishes the Public Comment Draft Report. It is also up to the fishery certifier to make a determination and publish a rationale on why it has chosen that date and whether the eligibility period will be six months or less.
The fishery must be successfully certified before the MSC ecolabel can be used.
Risks
1) The fishery might fail its assessment. If this happens, any fish accumulated by the First Point of Sale after Landing company cannot be sold with an MSC ecolabel.
2) The assessment might be delayed so that the Actual Eligibility Date is later than the Target Eligibility date. If this happens, the company accumulating fish under the rules in the guide would not be able to sell fish caught before the Actual Eligibility Date with the MSC ecolabel.
These are commercial risks that have to be borne by the company taking advantage of the Target Eligibility Date rules.
