Comment on an assessment
There are several stages of the fishery assessment process, and stakeholder input is needed at each one. The assessment team can give the best possible consideration to your input when you get involved early in the process.
You can download our 'Stakeholder engagement diagram' (PDF, 1mb) - it summarises the stages of assessment and points where you can provide input as described below.
Download the template for commenting on assessments
If you wish to comment on a fishery assessment please download the template for stakeholder input, (MS Word, 1054kb). This aims to guide stakeholders in providing relevant and actionable input into MSC fishery assessments.
The stages of the assessment - and the points at which you can provide input - are:
1. Fishery announcement and assessment team formation: Identify yourself as a stakeholder and comment on the assessment team
If you have an interest in the fishery or the wider impacts of a fishery, this is your chance to identify yourself. You should contact the certifier and you will be made fully aware of the steps in the assessment process and your opportunities to participate.
Certifiers will actively seek to identify all potential stakeholders in a fishery. However, if you would like to be informed by the MSC as fisheries enter assessment so that you can identify yourself as a stakeholder, please sign up for fisheries announcements.
The assessment team is the group of independent experts that evaluates the fishery against the MSC environmental standard for sustainable fishing. You are invited to comment on whether you think the individuals chosen to assess the fishery have the appropriate experience and expertise to conduct the assessment. Although certifiers currently are not required to request stakeholder input at this stage, they are encouraged to do so, and most do.
2. Building the assessment tree: Review default assessment tree in relation to fishery
Each fishery assessment is conducted against an “assessment tree” that defines the structure for scoring the fishery. It is a critical element of the assessment process, because it defines how an individual fishery’s performance will be assessed. Stakeholders’ review and input is very important.
The assessment tree uses the MSC standard as its starting point but adds a much greater level of detail. It specifies “performance indicators” that define the specific areas of the assessment and “scoring guideposts” that measure the fishery’s performance levels.
In the original MSC certification process, certifiers developed individual assessment trees for each fishery, allowing for its specific characteristics. In July 2008, MSC began to require the use of a standardized, default assessment tree developed under its Quality and Consistency project. Most fisheries are expected to use this default tree as the basis for their assessments. Changes may still be allowed, however, where justified by the special characteristics of a fishery.
Certifiers will announce their intent to either use the default assessment tree when they believe it is appropriate for the fishery or to use a tree with some modifications. A 30-day consultation period then follows, in which stakeholders can comment on the certifier’s proposal for the assessment tree. After such consultation, the certifier will confirm any changes to the default assessment tree with MSC. MSC will then publish the final assessment tree on the fishery’s page on the MSC website in Track a fishery.
3. Information gathering, stakeholder meetings and scoring: Engage with the assessment team
The assessment team next analyzes all relevant information (including technical papers, reports and other sources of information) and conducts interviews with the client, fishery managers and other stakeholders to ensure the team is aware of all potential information and stakeholder knowledge about the fishery. The team uses this evidence to score the fishery’s performance against the assessment tree.
The certifier will announce that they will visit a fishery at a defined time and location in order to hold discussions with local stakeholders. This is your chance to meet the assessment team and ensure that they are aware of any information that you have about the fishery. You may also submit written information for consideration.
4. Client and peer review: Comment on peer reviewers
Next, the assessment team creates a draft client report that outlines a summary of the fishery’s performance against the MSC standard. This will consider the health of the target stock(s), the state of the broader environment in which the fishery operates and the capacity of the management system to support the fishery’s sustainability into the future. The report will explain the scores, rationale and proposed certification outcome, as well as any conditions aimed at improving the fishery’s performance over the period of certification. The client is asked to comment on this first draft. After this, the report is revised and sent to two independent experts for peer review. The peer reviewers provide a written review of the revised draft.
Stakeholders will be notified when the peer reviewers have been identified, before they receive the draft report. This is your chance to indicate whether you believe the chosen individuals have the appropriate experience and expertise to complete the review.
5. Public review of the draft assessment report: Comment on the draft report
Following the client and peer reviews, the certifier provides the “Public Comment Draft Report” to the MSC so it can be published on the MSC website. The MSC then notifies stakeholders that the report is available for comment. You will have at least 30 days to comment on the report.
This is the full draft of the report. It presents how the fishery has been scored against the MSC standard and indicates the possible certification outcome. This is an opportunity to carefully review the report to make sure you are happy that it is a true and thorough assessment of the fishery and to provide any further comment regarding the assessment.
6. Final report and determination: Make an objection
After reviewing, considering and responding to all comments on the draft report, the certifier revises it and makes a determination as to whether the fishery should be certified. The certifier then provides this final report to the MSC, and it is published on the MSC website.
The MSC sends an email alert to all interested stakeholders, notifying you of the revised report and allowing a period of 15 working days for you to lodge an intent to object to the decision, if you see a need to do so.
This intent must set out clearly and precisely any errors in the final report and must explain why such errors made a material difference to the outcome or fairness of the assessment.
Objections will be considered to have a sound basis if:
(A) There was a serious procedural irregularity in the fishery assessment process, or
(B) If the score given by the certifier in relation to one or more performance indicators cannot be justified, and that score was material to the outcome of the assessment. Scoring problems may arise because
• the certifier made a mistake,
• the certifier failed to consider material information provided in the assessment process by the fishery or a stakeholder, or
• because the scoring decision was arbitrary or unreasonable in the sense that no reasonable certifier could have reached such a decision on the evidence available to it.
The cost of an objection:
It’s important to note that you could incur costs from the certifier when lodging an objection to the assessment process. These costs may be partially or fully waived by the independent adjudicator, depending on the objector’s financial capacity to cover these costs — while the MSC Board of Trustees establishes a maximum level of cost of the objection process. Funding is sometimes available from external parties to help cover objection costs. For more information, contact MSC.
7. Public certification report and certificate issue
This is the final step in the process. If the certifier has concluded that the fishery should be certified and if no objections are in place or they have been resolved, the certifier releases the final “Public Certification Report” and issues the certificate to the fishery. The fishery is now certified for a period of five years, subject to surveillance.
Surveillance audits and recertification
After certification, the fishery will be subject to regular surveillance audits, based on timelines indicated by any conditions of certification. Stakeholders who have identified themselves will be notified when the fishery is audited, and opportunities will be made available for them to provide comments or new information on the fishery during the audit. When each audit is complete, the certifier provides a copy of the audit report to the MSC to be published here on the MSC website.
A recertification assessment will begin four years after the fishery’s certification. The recertification assessment process follows the same steps as the fishery’s original assessment process, and stakeholders can be involved at the same stages as outlined above.
Find out about fishery assessments
There are various ways that you can stay informed about fisheries within the MSC program.
A. Subscribe to RSS feeds on the MSC website
RSS feeds from our website allow you to receive up-to-the-minute notifications about fisheries involved with the MSC and other MSC information. Subscribe to these RSS feeds to be notified of fisheries that enter assessment or fisheries that become certified, to track an individual fishery throughout its assessment or to receive updates on MSC’s Developing World Program. You can also sign up for an RSS feed of all MSC news releases. Find out more and subscribe at RSS feeds.
B. Be informed of all fishery assessments
To receive email notifications about the progress of all fisheries in the MSC program, please sign up for fisheries announcements. You will then receive stakeholder announcements through all stages of all fisheries’ assessment, audit and recertification processes.
C. Receive MSC news releases
Sign up to receive MSC news releases by email - including announcements of fisheries in assessment, fisheries’ assessment results, new MSC-labeled products, commercial partnerships and more - at Sign up to receive press releases by email.
