The Science and Research Fund provides grants of up to £50,000 to support projects that help MSC certified fisheries maintain best practice in sustainability.
2025 call for proposals now open
This year we are are launching two separate calls for proposals under the Science and Research Fund within the following themes:
Further information on these themes, eligibility criteria and the application process can be found in the Call for Proposals document below.
1. At-sea monitoring projects
We are welcoming Expressions of Interest for proposals that support the accelerated implementation of at-sea monitoring methods and systems to fisheries in the MSC Program. In particular, we are looking for proposals involving a workshop or series of workshops that present a variety of at-sea monitoring solutions to fisheries.
Available Funding
Up to
£50,000
Duration of funding
One year
Deadline for expressions of interest
10 November 2025
23:59 UTC
Who can apply?
Any organisation or organisations that have significant expertise in at-sea monitoring methods and sampling design and/or significant experience in delivering at-sea monitoring solutions within a wide variety of fisheries. Applicants must also have experience in training delivery or some form of stakeholder engagement/facilitation.
Application for projects on this theme is a two-stage process:
- Applicants must submit an Expression of Interest form by 10 November, 2025
- Shortlisted applicants will be notified in December 2025 and will be invited to submit a full proposal by 30 January 2026.
To access the Expression of Interest form, please fill in the questionnaire below.
2. Harvest strategies/harvest control rules projects
We are also welcoming proposals that deliver research in harvest strategies and/or harvest control rules, which is essential for maintaining MSC certification. We are particularly interested in proposals that apply existing tools such as MERA (method evaluation and risk assessment).Available Funding
Up to
£50,000
Duration of funding
Up to two years
Applications close
1 December 2025
23:59 UTC
Who can apply?
This call is open to submissions from academic institutions, governmental and non-governmental organisations, independent researchers and MSC certified fisheries.
How to apply
To apply to the Science and Research Fund, please contact your local MSC representative.If you are unsure who your representative is, you can email our Ocean Stewardship Fund team.
Previous grant recipients
Since 2020, we have awarded 31 grants and nearly £1.4 million in funding via Ocean Stewardship Fund to support research projects, including:
• Reducing sawfish interactions in Australia’s Northern Prawn Fishery• Statistics to predict silky shark hotspots and mitigate bycatch
• Seabird bycatch reduction in the Greenland lumpfish fishery
• Knowledge sharing to further reduce dolphin interactions in Australian and UK sardine fisheries
• Tagging silky sharks to identify post-release survival rates
• Improving data on seabird interactions in Alaskan salmon fishery
• Reducing turtle bycatch in the Réunion coastal longline swordfish fishery
