Fisheries Program Revisions

The Fisheries Standard v3 was published in October 2022 following a four-year review. However, feedback from stakeholders including independent assessors and fishery representatives highlighted aspects that were unclear, overly complex, and unintentionally preventing certification of well-managed fisheries that have previously achieved high-scores against the Standard. 

The Fisheries Program Revisions project is currently underway to resolve key concerns and ensure the MSC program continues to drive real and lasting progress towards ending overfishing. 

The revisions project has incorporated the MSC Toolbox Review. This began in July 2024 with the aim of ensuring that key procedures developed to support fisheries assessments are effective. 

Revisions will be made to the Standard v3.1, the Fisheries Certification Process v3.1, and the Fisheries Standard Toolbox v1.2. This may lead to changes in the level of performance required for fisheries to achieve certification.  

While these revisions are in development, fisheries have been permitted more time to use Version 2.01 of the Standard. Version 2.01 remains a leading measure of fisheries sustainability, as benchmarked by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative. 

Objectives

The Fisheries Program Revisions will focus on the following:

• Ensure requirements deliver intended sustainability outcomes
• Clarify requirements and reduce complexity to ensure assessments are more efficient 
• Improve the applicability and accessibility of the Standard
• Resolve inconsistencies throughout Standard and associated program documents
  

Key topics 

The revisions will focus on the following topics: 

• Evidence Requirements Framework
• Fisheries Certification Process
  
• Requirements for Endangered, Threatened and Protected species and out-of-scope species.
• Risk-Based Framework
• Use of Section SE for non-tuna fisheries managed by RFMOs

The revisions will also consider inseparable and practicably inseparable species, and additional minor clarifications and edits will be made throughout the scheme documents to ensure consistency, clarity and usability. 

Developing the revisions

The MSC is developing and testing revisions in collaboration with external experts, including fishery managers, fishery assessors and NGO representatives. 

Before the revisions are launched, comprehensive impact assessments will be carried out on the proposed changes to ensure they deliver the intended sustainability outcomes and can be consistently applied.

There are a number of tools available to fully consider the impacts of new requirements. These include:

• Pilot testing: which involves CABs or assessors theoretically applying the proposed changes to real fisheries through a desk-based exercise to confirm they are clear, workable in practice, and achieve their intended purpose. 
• Full mock assessments: applying the full Standard, or complete sections of it, to real fisheries to test changes holistically and understand their impact on scores, conditions and retention.
• Stakeholder feedback: Focused interviews with a range of stakeholders from different sectors to seek opinions and suggestions on requirements. Feedback from stakeholder consultations will also feed into the impact assessment process.

Milestones

January 2024: 

• The MSC announces intention to carry out technical clarifications to MSC Fisheries Standard Version 3

June 2024:

• Version 3.1 published following technical revisions
• MSC Fisheries Standard Toolbox Review begins (revising the Evidence Requirements Framework and Risk-based Framework)

July 2025

• 60-day public consultation on proposed revisions to Toolbox
• The MSC expands scope of revisions and announces the Fisheries Program Revisions
  

2026 

• 60-day public consultation on all revisions (dates to be confirmed). 
  

2027 

• Updated Standard to be published (mid-2027). The updated Standard will come into effect 6 months after publication.

2028

• Updated Standard expected to be in effect in early 2028.  
  

Participating in the Fisheries Program Revisions 

A 60-day public consultation on the proposed changes to the Standard, Toolbox and Fisheries Certification Process will be held later in 2026.

All stakeholders and partners with an interest in the Fisheries Standard and assessment process will have an opportunity to view the proposals and provide feedback.

Feedback will be analysed and used to refine the revisions alongside further pilot testing and impact assessment. 

A further 30-day consultation on the final proposals will be held towards the end of the revisions process. 

Transitioning to the updated Standard

A six-month extension to the timeline for publishing the updated Standard was agreed by the MSC Board in March 2026. We now anticipate the updated version of the Fisheries Standard, Fisheries Standard Toolbox, and Fisheries Certification Process will be published in mid-2027. All revised documents will come into effect six months after publication (likely early 2028). 

The extension will ensure we can incorporate all revisions and test the revised Standard and related documents. This supersedes our original intention to publish the revised Standard in July 2026.

Timelines

The timelines for transitioning to the updated version of the Standard vary depending on the certification status of the fishery:

1. Certified fisheries: fisheries with a certificate that expires after 1 March 2030 must use the updated version of the Standard at their next reassessment.
   
2. New fisheries: fisheries entering assessment for the first time must use the updated version from its effective date, which will be six months after its publication. 
3. Section SE fisheries: Fisheries that used the Early Application of Section SE process can remain on Version 2.01 until the updated version is in effect, which will be six months after its publication date. 
4. Improvement Program fisheries:  
   Fisheries joining the MSC Improvement Program after the updated Standard is in effect, must use the updated version. 
   
   Fisheries that join the Improvement Program before the effective date may continue using version 2.01 of the Standard when they enter full assessment, as long as it is before 1 March 2030.
   
   By 1 March 2030 all fisheries in the Improvement Program must either: update their action plans to align with the updated Standard. This may require triggering the ‘exceptional circumstances’ clause – this clause allows for an extension of the five-year action plan timeline by up to three years, if approved by Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs). OR, enter assessment under v2.01 (if the fishery was in the Improvement Program before the effective date)
   

If you have any questions about the transition timelines and what this means for your fishery, please contact [email protected] or your local MSC representative.