A public consultation on the proposed revisions to the MSC Fisheries Standard and associated scheme documents is running until 8 December 2026.
The consultation is part of the MSC Fisheries Program Revisions, which is revising key aspects of the Fisheries Standard v3.1, Fisheries Certification Process v3.1, and the Fisheries Standard Toolbox v1.2.
Find out more and take part in the survey.
The MSC will hold a series of webinars from 2 - 6 November 2026 to discuss the proposed changes. Find out more and register to attend
Key revisions proposed
The revisions proposed intend to provide a clearer and more practical Standard that continues to set an industry-leading framework for environmentally sustainable fishing.
These revisions include:
- Endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species: More appropriate classifications based on conservation status, and more rigorous assessment of fisheries’ impacts on ETP species.
- Evidence Requirements Framework: Revised process to assess the accuracy of information provided during a fishery assessment.
- Monitoring requirements: Requirements for independent human or electronic observation revised to align with widely used global best practice, based on independent analysis.
- Application of Section SE: Revised intent for Section SE requirements (which support adoption of harvest strategies in fisheries managed by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations): to be mandatory for specific tuna stocks only.
- Traceability requirements: Strengthening integrity at the interface between an MSC certified fishery and supply chain.
- Harmonising scores for overlapping fisheries: Refining the process used to ensure fisheries that target the same stocks or impact the same species receive consistent scores and conditions of certification.
- Risk-Based Framework: Clarifying how and when the framework should be applied to data-limited fisheries, and encouraging stakeholder participation in assessments.
Take part in the consultation
Interested stakeholders can provide feedback on the proposed revisions via an online consultation survey.
The survey can be translated into any language through the survey system.
The survey will close on 8 December 2026 at 17:00 UTC.
Revised scheme documents
The proposed revisions for each scheme document can be accessed below:
- Draft MSC Fisheries Standard v4.0
- Draft MSC Fisheries Standard v4.0 with changes highlighted
- Draft MSC Fisheries Certification Process v4.0
- Draft MSC Fisheries Certification Process v4.0 with changes highlighted
- Draft MSC Fisheries Standard Toolbox v2.0
- Draft MSC Fisheries Standard Toolbox v2.0 with changes highlighted
Supporting information
The Summary of Proposed Changes document is currently available in the following languages:
- Summary of Proposed Revisions in English
- Summary of Proposed Revisions in French
- Summary of Proposed Revisions in Spanish
The survey will also be available in Bahasa Indonesia, Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin. These documents will be available shortly.
MSC Fisheries Program Revisions: Consultation Explainer
Attend our webinars
A series of webinars will be held between 2 and 6 November 2026 to support participation in the consultation.
Each webinar will focus on a different set of revisions, providing a detailed explanation of the key revisions proposed and rationale for change. Attendees will also have an opportunity to ask questions during a live Q&A session at the end of each webinar.
To account for different time-zones, two webinars focusing on the same topics will be held each day at 07:00 – 08:00 UTC and 16:00 – 17:00 UTC. The webinars will be delivered in English, but attendees will be able to select captions in their language of choice.
Next steps
Feedback from the consultation will be analysed and used to refine the revisions alongside further pilot testing, mock assessments and impact assessments.
A further 30-day consultation on the final proposals is expected to take place in April 2027.
The Version 4.0 of the Standard is expected be issued in September 2027 and come into effect six months after publication (early 2028).
Contact us
Please contact [email protected] or your local MSC representative if you have any questions about the revisions proposed or how to participate in the consultation.
