The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has launched a 60-day public consultation on the proposed changes to its Chain of Custody Standard. Stakeholders are invited to review the proposals and provide feedback through an online survey, which is open until 30 May 2026.
Certification to the MSC Chain of Custody Standard allows businesses and consumers to be confident that seafood sold with the MSC ecolabel has been sourced from an MSC certified fishery. It also provides assurance that products with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) ecolabel are from an ASC certified farm.
To achieve certification, every company in the supply chain must demonstrate to independent auditors that products from a certified fishery or farm are easily identifiable, separated from non-certified products, and can be traced back to the certified business it was purchased from.
The MSC is reviewing its Chain of Custody Standard to ensure it reflects industry best practice, remains relevant to the seafood industry and can be efficiently and effectively applied.
“There have been significant changes within the MSC program and across the wider seafood industry since the Standard was last reviewed in 2019” says Lucy Frazer, MSC Head of Supply Chain Standard Operations. “These changes provide opportunities to build on and improve our Chain of Custody program.”
A draft revised Standard and associated Chain of Custody Certification Requirements have now been developed. The proposed revisions include clarifications to requirements and processes to ensure audits are more consistent and to improve usability for auditors and certificate holders. This includes removing unnecessarily complex or inconsistent language and combining the three current versions of the Standard (Default, Group and Consumer-facing Organisation) into a single, restructured document.
Proposals have also been developed to strengthen traceability and assurance, while helping certificate holders demonstrate compliance with evolving traceability regulations. This includes requiring certificate holders to carry out regular internal traceback exercises and to demonstrate to auditors their ability to access a defined list of standardised traceability data.
The feedback from the public consultation will provide key insights into whether the proposed changes are feasible and can deliver the intended outcomes of the Chain of Custody Review.
The MSC survey will run until 30 May 2026, and all stakeholders with an interest in the Chain of Custody Standard are encouraged to review the proposals and share their views.
The ASC is simultaneously reviewing their Chain of Custody Module and is holding a separate 60-day public consultation on their proposed revisions. The ASC consultation is open until 2 May 2026 and focuses on proposals to introduce human rights and humane slaughter requirements and improve food safety provisions, while aiming to maintain alignment with the MSC’s Standard requirements
Find out more about the MSC consultation survey