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The MSC seeks to reward best practice in fisheries management and support fisheries that are working to improve their management systems.
Principle 3 of the MSC Fisheries Standard relates to systems and policies for effective fisheries management. It states that fisheries must be well governed and have adequate monitoring and enforcement systems in place.
In June 2022, the MSC Board of Trustees approved the new MSC Fisheries Standard (version 3.0).
This decision followed the most comprehensive review of the MSC Fisheries Standard ever undertaken in the 25-year history of the MSC.
The new requirements include a framework that will enable assessors to evaluate the quality of information being used to certify a fishery as sustainable and well managed.
Further details on our new evidence requirements, and how these requirements were developed can be found below.
Read our recent Board statement to find out more.
We intend to publish the new MSC Fisheries Standard (version 3.0) in October 2022. Fisheries seeking certification for the first time will need to adhere to the new Standard from May 2023.
We have introduced a new policy that requires all certificate holders to have completed reassessment to the MSC Fisheries Standard version 3.0 within six years of it being published (October 2028).
Read more about our new transition timelines for certified fisheries.
We will introduce a new framework that enables assessors to evaluate the quality of information that has been collected by a fishery’s monitoring system. This includes the type and extent of information collected on fishing activities, as well as how that information has been reported and provided to the assessment team. This framework will make it easier for assessors to evaluate a fishery’s monitoring system in a systematic way, and to report their findings consistently and transparently as part of the certification process.As a minimum requirement for certification, information must be able to provide a broad understanding of the issues. For example, an understanding of the extent of a fishery’s environmental impact, or its compliance with management rules. To achieve global best practice or beyond, the available information must be able to provide a high or very high degree of accuracy.
As a minimum requirement for meeting our Standard (SG60), all fisheries will need a monitoring system that is able to collect and provide catch information. They must also demonstrate that catches are being independently verified. This is to ensure accurate information on how the fishery interacts with other species and habitats.
Fisheries operating at best practice level (SG80) must have a monitoring system that is designed to ensure the precision of catch estimates. Assessors will be required to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the monitoring system in order to judge how precisely the catch is being estimated. This approach is feasible for fisheries to implement whilst delivering our intention of improving the quality of evidence being supplied by fisheries.
Fisheries must also demonstrate that they allow independent observation of catches. We have not defined a level of observation required for most fisheries. This permits levels to be set according to the fishing practices and species caught, which will help make sure our Standard remains accessible to fisheries of all sizes.
However, fisheries that meet all of the following criteria will be required to have independent observation that covers at least 30% of annual fishing operations:
If the RFMO has a level of coverage below 30%, this may be acceptable only if it allows for the precise estimation of catches and is based on credible and transparent scientific research.
If the RFMO cannot demonstrate that the level of independent observation is backed by research, the fishery will need to comply with the requirement for at least 30% independent observation.
Fisheries that are likely to be affected by these requirements are tuna long-liners and purse-seiners.
Fisheries with full coverage of independent observation will be considered to be operating at a state-of-the-art level (SG100).
Due to the high level of stakeholder interest in these requirements, the MSC’s Board of Trustees agreed that their implementation will be overseen by an independent Working Group composed of members of the MSC governance bodies, the Stakeholder Advisory Council and the Technical Advisory Board. The implementation will involve the development of detailed and high-quality guidance. The MSC will review the effectiveness of the new evidence requirements within two years.
The changes clearly set out the MSC’s requirements on the quality of information that is needed to certify a fishery as sustainable and well-managed. They will give assessors detailed instructions on how to evaluate a fishery’s monitoring system in a consistent way. The accuracy of information used in an assessment - such a fishery’s catch profile, how and where it fishes, and whether it complies with management rules – will be evaluated in terms of its trueness and precision, indicating how well the information reflects the truth.The evaluation of information quality will be focused on the type of data available, including how it was collected and provided to the assessment team. Assessors will be required to ask a series of questions designed to investigate possible bias in the information, such as whether it is up to date, if it is available for all parts of fishery’s operations, or if anyone providing it may have a conflict of interest.Read our latest impact assessment report (May 2022) to see how we developed these requirements. The report includes an analysis of feedback received from the public review.
We intend to publish the new MSC Fisheries Standard, and all associated program documents, in October 2022.
Compliance must be rigorously evaluated in all assessments, and the changes would clarify how this should be done to provide consistency in assessments. It would also use our new Evidence Requirement framework where appropriate under these proposals. Ensuring that systematic non-compliance is not evident within a fishery would become a minimum requirement for certification.
Improving consistency in how fishery monitoring systems are evaluated will help ensure the MSC Program is fair and transparent. Setting clearer evidence requirements will also avoid putting a fishery at a disadvantage for being more transparent than others regarding its impacts.We expect that many fisheries will need to improve or develop monitoring programs to achieve the new evidence requirements. However, the new evidence requirements are not prescriptive on the monitoring methods that fisheries must use, as long as they can provide accurate information, and they allow for innovation in the future. This will help fisheries to adapt to meet the new requirements.Download our impact assessment reports below, which detail the positive and negative impacts associated with the new evidence framework.
Making assessments more rigorous would drive best practice by incentivising achievable improvements. Making assessments more consistent would create a more level playing field for fisheries seeking certification.
Read our impact assessment reports below detailing the positive and negative impacts associated with the proposed changes to compliance requirements.
The outcomes of this project are linked to several other projects in the review, including:
We will ensure that these evidence requirements take into account any other changes through these projects.
The working group set up by our Technical Advisory Board will continue to refine the evidence requirements between June 2022 and the publication of the Standard. We intend to publish the new MSC Fisheries Standard (version 3.0) in October 2022.
Fisheries seeking certification for the first time will need to adhere to the new Standard from May 2023.
Certified fisheries will still have at least three years before they are required to begin the transition to the new Standard. This is in compliance with the UN FAO Best Practice Guidelines for Ecolabelling. Please note, the publication date of version 3.0 (and therefore the effective date, and deadline for recertification) may be subject to change.Sign up to our mailing list to receive updates about the roll out of the new Standard.
The development of the proposed Standard follows three rounds of public consultation on key aspects of the review, including a 60-day public review of the draft Standard and all associated program documents. We also commissioned independent research and carried out data analysis and impact assessments to determine whether proposals are feasible and deliver our stated intentions. We have also sought advice and input from our governance bodies throughout the process.
Find out more about how we develop our standards>
See the sections below to find out more about the different inputs which contributed to the development of our proposed policies.
In 2018 a review of our existing requirements identified three additional areas for potential improvement.
We reviewed whether scope requirements relating to fishing governance are fit for purpose. We are also considering whether the use of scope criteria can be used to exclude individual fishers or vessels involved in illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. Read about our proposed changes to the scope of the MSC program here.
We reviewed the accessibility of Principle 3 to make sure our requirements do not pose a barrier to small-scale fisheries or those from the Global South achieving certification. Barriers to accessibility could occur if the bar is set too high or if scoring guideposts are not clear. The results of this review found no major berries to certification but recommended some clarifications to the guidance provided to assessors.
The Fisheries Standard Review provides an opportunity to ensure the intent of our requirements and guidance, and the definitions used in them, are clear and unambiguous. We have proposed a number of helpful clarifications to our requirements in the Standard text.
We commissioned independent research to support the development of our policies on monitoring, control and surveillance, and observer coverage. Follow the links below the read the reports.
- Review of optimal levels of observer coverage in fishery monitoring (MRAG Ltd, 2021)
- Compliance and enforcement - best practice review, proposed revisions and impact assessments (Hønneland G, 2020)
- Review of good practice in monitoring, control and surveillance, and observer coverage programmes (MRAG Ltd, 2019)
- Compliance scoring review (Hønneland G, 2018)
In May 2021 we held a workshop with technical experts to gain further input on how the quality of fisheries information should be described and assessed and help us refine the proposed revisions to our Standard.
A summary report from the workshop is now available and contains an overview of the project, feedback received and a descriptive analysis of the participating stakeholder groups.
Download the summary report from the workshop on 'Strengthening the evidence requirements for MSC certification '
In June and July 2020 we held three virtual workshops on the topic of ‘Introducing requirements on the type and quality of evidence needed for scoring fisheries.’ Participants could provide additional input through an online survey. We also held a consultation survey on the topic of ‘Establishing best practice in monitoring, control and surveillance’.
We have published consultation summary reports for both topics, which include transcripts from the workshop, feedback from the surveys and a descriptive analysis of attendees. Commercially sensitive and personal details have been redacted. Please note that the reports do not contain details of policy direction.
MSC Fisheries Standard Review consultation summary report (October 2020) - Introducing new evidence requirements on the quality of information needed for scoring fisheries
MSC Fisheries Standard Review consultation summary report (October 2020) - Establishing best practice in monitoring, control and surveillance
We have carried out a systematic review of our requirements including the scope criteria in relation to Principle 3. We have also completed an external review of accessibility in Principle 3.
To develop evidence requirements, we have carried out a comprehensive review of our scoring requirements, and held workshops on fishery monitoring best practice with expert stakeholders.
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