How it works

How it works

Step 1: The fishery enters MSC full assessment

A fishery enters MSC full assessment and its certifier announces a timeline for the assessment. One of the key dates in the timeline is the Target Eligibility Date. The Target Eligibility Date is a date defined by the fishery certifier. Any fish caught on or after this date can carry the MSC label once the fishery has successfully been certified. Please note: the Target Eligibility Date is a guide date and may be changed as the fishery’s assessment progresses. At the end of the assessment, the fishery certifier confirms the Actual Eligibility Date in the text of the Public Certification Report.

Step 2: Check with your certifier if you are allowed to purchase, handle and/or sell under-MSC-assessment fish

Your company’s position in the supply chain will determine whether you can handle under-MSC-assessment fish to eventually promote or label it as MSC certified. Under-MSC-assessment fish can go as far as one step after the company that first preserves the fish. Preservation is defined as the process designed to protect products from natural spoilage and to allow their long-term storage. These processes include but are not limited to freezing, canning, dehydrating, drying, curing, smoking, sterilising.

Specifically, your company can handle and/or sell under-MSC-assessment fish if:

1. You are the first company that preserves the fish, or;
2. You take ownership of the fish before it is preserved, or;
3. You buy products directly from the first company that preserves the fish, or;

4. You are the first link in the chain of custody and the fish is first preserved by a company that is part of the unit of certification of the under-MSC-assessment fishery.

If your company is described under 1 and 2, you can sell the product one step into the chain. If your company is described under 3 and 4, you can handle under-MSC-assessment fish but cannot sell it on as under-MSC-assessment or as MSC certified, until the fishery is certified.

Step 3: Get Chain of Custody certification or amend your certification information

Once you have been told by your certifier that you fall within one of the four categories described above, you must either:

• Get Chain of Custody certification and have the under-MSC-assessment fish from under MSC assessment fishery (ies) you are interested in included in the scope of your certification; or

•  If you already hold a valid Chain of Custody certificate, ask your certifier to extend the scope of your certification to cover the under-MSC-assessment fish from the fishery (ies) you are interested in.

Following a successful audit, or extension of scope certification, the certifier will enter the information about the under-MSC-assessment fish in a separate document called the ‘under-MSC-assessment schedule’. The MSC website will also show that your company has been certified for under-MSC-assessment fish, but will not list the fishery(ies). This is to avoid creating the impression that the fishery(ies) is certified.

You will need to provide your certifier with the list of all your suppliers (this applies to MSC certified and under-MSC-assessment fish).

Find out more about getting certified for Chain of Custody

Step 4: Purchase, handle and/or sell under-MSC-assessment fish

You can now start purchasing and handling under-MSC-assessment fish. Your company will have to follow certain requirements depending on:

• If you are a company purchasing fish before it is first preserved or are the first company preserving the fish. If this applies (scenarios 1 and 2 outlined in Step 2), you are allowed to handle and sell fish as under-MSC-assessment fish.   If you decide to sell the fish as under-MSC-assessment, the invoice must mention under-MSC-assessment but the product must not show any reference to MSC.

• If you are the first company buying from the company that preserves the fish. If this applies (scenarios 3 and 4 outlined in Step 2), you will only be allowed to handle under-MSC-assessment fish until the fishery is certified. If you decide to sell the fish,  it will no longer be able to be sold as MSC certified when the fishery is certified.  You will also need to remove all reference to the under-MSC-assessment status.

Step 5: The fishery is certified and Eligibility Date is confirmed

When the Public Certification Report is issued for the fishery, the Eligibility Date is confirmed (called the Actual Eligibility Date). As soon as the fishery receives its certificate it is considered certified. Your certifier will inform you that:

1. The under-MSC-assessment fish on your certificate has been reclassified as MSC certified and is now shown on the MSC website.
2. Only fish caught on or after the Actual Eligibility Date, can be traded, promoted and labelled as MSC certified.

Any under-MSC-assessment fish caught before the Actual Eligibility Date cannot be sold on as MSC certified, even if all the other conditions have been met.