The MSC is revising the Fisheries Certification Process (FCP) to ensure the process for carrying out fishery assessments can be applied consistently and more efficiently.
These revisions are being carried out as part of the MSC’s Fisheries Program Revisions, which will resolve key concerns around Version 3.1 of the Standard and the Fisheries Certification Process, and ensure the MSC program continues to drive real and lasting progress towards ending overfishing.
The proposed changes will be shared in later in 2026, and there will be an opportunity to provide feedback through a 60-day public consultation.
Why are revisions needed?
The FCP defines the protocol that must be followed during a fishery assessment. It was last updated alongside the MSC Fisheries Standard Version 3.1. However, feedback from assessors and fishery representatives highlighted increases in assessment time and costs. Some aspects of the FCP are deemed unclear and it has also been reported that fewer stakeholders are participating in assessments, due to the complexity of the FCP requirements and the additional time and resources needed.
Revisions will be made to improve the efficiency of assessments and ensure the assessment process is clear. These changes aim to improve the cost-effectiveness of assessments and audits and improve the experience for all stakeholders engaging in the process.
Revisions are also required to align the FCP with relevant accreditation standards, and changes to related aspects of the MSC program, including the Chain of Custody Standard Review,
Objections Process, and Labour eligibility requirements.
Areas of revision
The revisions will focus on the following key topics:
- Clarifying the harmonisation process
The harmonisation process is applied to overlapping fisheries to ensure scores and conditions of certification are consistent. The review will clarify how assessors should apply the process, including establishing the level at which fisheries should be harmonised.
This includes considering whether harmonisation should occur at the Performance Indicator or Scoring Issue level, and whether it should apply to specific scores or just to the overall pass/fail outcome. It will also address difficulties in harmonising Principle 2, and the lack of clarity in applying the process to Principle 3.
The review will consider whether to continue with the current process, where the lowest score is awarded if assessors cannot agree how to consolidate scoring.
The application of the harmonisation process to suspended fisheries will also be reviewed, alongside consideration of how and when new information is used. - Clarifications to the assessment and reassessment process
Reporting templates and stakeholder input templates will be streamlined, with unnecessary or duplicated content removed. We will also improve alignment with FCP requirements.
The review will consider whether an Announcement Comment Draft Report should still be required during reassessment, with the aim of making the process more efficient.
In addition, the MSC will consider whether new requirements are needed for splitting certificates and will clarify the existing requirements for adding "other eligible fishers" or new vessels to a certificate. - Clarifying deadlines for conditions of certification
The review will consider how assessors set deadlines for conditions of certification, and if these deadlines should better align with auditing opportunities.
Currently, fisheries are allowed five years to resolve conditions, with progress monitored at each surveillance audit. However, the last auditing opportunity to monitor progress comes at the fourth surveillance audit, only four years into the certificate cycle. This makes it difficult for some fisheries to close conditions or enter re-assessment.
In some circumstances, assessors are permitted to award conditions with deadlines that extend beyond the standard five-year timeframe. This includes situations where life histories of species may be significantly longer than five years, so information gathering may take longer, or if a management body’s workplan sets out a timeframe greater than five years. The requirements that allow assessors to assign conditions with extended deadlines will also be reviewed.
Requirements will be clarified to ensure assessment teams are confident of when and how extended deadlines can be applied and can be transparent in justifying their decision. - Clarifying how fisheries are scored
The review will clarify the scoring process to ensure assessment outcomes are more transparent and consistent. This includes clarifying the definitions of scoring elements and where they apply, and considering how assessors should combine different element scores within the same Performance Indicator.
At present, the requirements lead to ambiguity in calculating scores and, depending on how calculations are made, could have material impacts on the outcome of a fishery assessment.
The review will also consider how scores obtained through the Risk-based Framework (RBF) should be combined with non-RBF scores within the same Performance Indicator. - Chain of Custody
The review will clarify where the chain of custody starts, and how the CAB determines which parties and activities should be covered by the fishery's certificate. This will also be strengthened by the current MSC Chain of Custody Standard review.
Traceability requirements as part of the fishery assessment are an important consideration for ensuring the integrity of MSC certified product through the supply chain. The type of information collected, and the way it is considered, is currently varied across assessments, so there is a focus on standardisation.
Developing the revisions
Any proposed changes will be subject to pilot tests and impact assessments to ensure they deliver the intended sustainability outcomes and can be consistently applied.
The revisions to these areas may change what is required to undertake an assessment and meet our Standard.
Next steps
Our stakeholders and partners will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the revisions proposed through a public consultation. We anticipate this will be held later in 2026.
We anticipate the updated versions will be issued in mid 2027 and come into effect six months after publication (likely early 2028).
If you have any questions about the Fisheries Program Revisions, please contact [email protected] or your local MSC representative.
