Submitting a complaint

What is your complaint or feedback about?

• A fishery seeking MSC certification
• An MSC certificate holder
• Conduct of a Certification Body (CAB)
• Feedback on the MSC Standards and assurance system
• An MSC labelled product
• Misuse of the MSC label
• Conduct of the MSC
  

A fishery seeking MSC certification

If you have a complaint about a fishery seeking MSC certification, please contact the certification body conducting the fishery’s assessment and register yourself as a stakeholder. You can provide information and evidence for the CAB to consider in their assessment.

For more information on the assessment and objection process, see:

• Engage with a fishery assessment and
• The MSC objections procedure: What you need to know

An MSC certificate holder

If you believe an MSC certified fishery is engaged in unsustainable fishing, please contact the certification body who assessed that fishery. To find the certification body and their contact details, search for the fishery of interest using the MSC Track a Fishery website.

Conduct of a certification body

If you're concerned that a certification body (CAB) has not acted impartially in their assessment of a fishery, or for any other complaint about the conduct of a certification body, you can complain directly to the certification body.

To find a certification body's contact details you can:

• Find the CAB via the fishery name on the MSC Track a Fishery website
• Use the Find a CAB search on the Assurance Services International (ASI) website 

If the certification body does not respond to your complaint, or you are dissatisfied with the response, you can raise this with ASI. Anyone can also raise an incident to ASI, ranging from generic observations to major concerns regarding certificate holders or certification bodies. ASI is the independent body that oversees certification bodies. 

Feedback on the MSC Standards and assurance system

We regularly review the MSC Fisheries Standard and Chain of Custody Standard to ensure they remain relevant and reflect global best practice. Find out how you can participate in the development of our Standards. 

An MSC labelled product

If you have found something wrong with an MSC labelled fish or seafood product, please contact the brand or supplier of that product.

Misuse of the MSC label

If you know of a case where the MSC name or label is being misused, please use the Report ecolabel misuse form

Conduct of the MSC

The MSC Complaints Procedure and the MSC Notice of Complaint Form can be found below. 

You can use the MSC Complaints Procedure for complaints about:

• The development, review, and revision of our Standards and our assurance system.
• The conduct of any MSC employee.
• Our role in the MSC certification program. Please note that as the MSC does not conduct assessments and certifications itself, you should contact the relevant certification body if you believe an MSC certified fishery or a fishery seeking certification is engaged in unsustainable fishing, or if you are concerned about the conduct of the certification body. See information above about contacting certification bodies. 

How the MSC will handle your complaint

• Submit and accept: We will review your submitted complaint to ensure it can be resolved through the MSC Complaints Procedure. We will also check it includes all the necessary information for us to proceed with investigating the complaint. If your complaint is rejected, we will explain why and recommend how the issue can be best be addressed.
• Investigation: We will aim to investigate and make a final decision on the complaint within 90 calendar days from the date of submission. You will also have the opportunity to comment on the factual correctness of the draft investigator's report before a final decision is reached. 
• Decision and action plan: The final decision on the complaint will be made by the MSC Executive Committee or the Chairman of the MSC Board of Trustees, depending on the nature of the complaint. You will be informed promptly of the decision, which could involve the MSC implementing improvements or corrective actions. 
• Publication of complaint summary: If the complaint relates specifically to the MSC’s standard-setting process or its assurance system, we will publish a summary of the investigation and decision on the MSC website. Any confidential or personal information will be excluded from this summary. 

Please send any questions about the MSC complaint process to [email protected]. 

If you are not sure of the best way to give your feedback or complaint, please email the Quality and Assurance Team via [email protected]

Have a question that’s not a complaint?

For any other queries, comments or suggestions, please see our contact us page