In a world where people increasingly care about where their seafood comes from, the blue MSC label makes it easy for your customers to select sustainable, wild seafood that they can trust.
The benefits
Find out more about what consumers think
Cost to use the MSC label
Most organizations that sign a license to use the MSC blue fish label are liable to pay annual fees and, depending on the label use, royalties. If you’re an education institute, media, charity, an ASI approved assessment body or NGO raising public awareness of sustainable seafood, then you can apply to use the MSC label for free.
Your licensing fees help us reach more fisheries around the world increasing the supply of certified sustainable seafood.
Annual fee
Once you've signed a license you will pay an annual fee. The level of the annual fee payable is determined by the total net value of MSC labeled seafood sold by your company during a UK financial year (April – March), except for menu or fish counter items where the annual fee is based on net purchases.
The annual fee is due at the beginning of each royalty year, which starts 1st April.
For existing licensees, the actual sales from the previous royalty year are used to determine the annual fee. For new licensees, the annual fee will be based on an estimation of sales for the royalty year.
Value of MSC certified seafood purchased/sold | Annual fee |
| £0 – £130,000 GBP | £160 GBP |
| £130,001 – £330,000 GBP | £800 GBP |
| > £330,000 GBP | £1,600 GBP |
If you are a consumer facing organisation, i.e. fishmonger or restaurant, reporting annual purchases of up to £130,000 GBP, you’ll just pay an annual fee of £160 GBP and no royalties.
Royalties
If you are using the MSC ecolabel on consumer facing products, you will also need to pay royalties starting at 0.5% on the net wholesale value of your MSC labeled product sales.
For fresh fish counter or menu items will be charged on net purchases.
MSC-labelled sales / purchases (GBP) of consumer facing products | Royalty rate |
| £0 GBP – £10,000,000 GBP | 0.5% |
| £10,000,001 GBP – 20,000,000 GBP | 0.45% |
| £20,000,001 GBP – 30,000,000 GBP | 0.4% |
| £30,000,001 GBP – 40,000,000 GBP | 0.35% |
| £40,000,001 GBP and greater | 0.3% |
Reporting your sales
We will request a completed turnover declaration on a quarterly, bi-annual, or annual basis – depending on how much MSC labeled seafood your company has sold – in order to calculate the annual fees and royalties.
Get started
Apply to use the MSC label
The blue MSC label makes it easy for your customers to select sustainable, wild seafood that they can trust.
MSC brand guidelines
Our brand guidelines set out the basic rules on how to use the MSC label on product packaging, restaurant menus, fish counters and promotional material.
Approve my use of the MSC label
The MSC label and associated claims are a registered trademark and any usage must be approved.