The MSC is reconsidering which fisheries must use Section SE, a section of the Standard designed to help fisheries managed by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations adopt effective harvest strategies.
The revisions are being carried out as part of the MSC's Fisheries Program Revisions, which will resolve key issues arising from Version 3.1 of the Standard and associated scheme documents. These revisions intend to ensure that the MSC program continues to drive real and lasting progress towards ending overfishing.
Take part in our consultation
Why are revisions to Section SE needed?
Section SE is a set of requirements introduced in Version 3 of the Fisheries Standard to provide a pathway for fisheries managed by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) to adopt effective and precautionary harvest strategies. RFMOs are international bodies which set conservation and sustainable fishing measures for migratory stocks or those shared by multiple nations, such as tuna.
Harvest strategies are a combination of monitoring, stock assessment, harvest control rules and management actions used to support healthy stocks. However, RFMO-managed fisheries can face challenges in closing conditions of MSC certification relating to harvest strategies. This is because RFMOs bring together members from multiple countries, and reaching agreement on management measures can take a long time.
In recognition of these challenges, Section SE provides fisheries more time to close conditions relating to harvest strategies. However, this extension is only granted on the basis that the fishery adopts a ‘state-of-the-art’ harvest strategy by the end of the process (meeting the requirements for SG100, as opposed to a ‘best practice’ score of SG80).
While Section SE has been successfully applied in RFMO-managed tuna fisheries, a number of non-tuna stocks managed by RFMOs and shared stocks experienced difficulties. To meet the requirements of Section SE, fisheries needed to apply a specific tool (Management Strategy Evaluation) to test the efficacy of a harvest strategy.
However, non-tuna RFMO managed fisheries can base the design and testing of harvest strategies on alternative measures, such as retrospective analyses. These measures would not meet the requirements of Section SE but may still be achieving the intent of MSC requirements for harvest strategies. As a result, fisheries may have been prevented from achieving certification, regardless of the efficacy of their approach to establishing effective harvest strategies.
What revisions have been proposed?
Key revisions have been developed to ensure Section SE can be effectively and consistently applied in practice.
The proposals and rationale for change are described in each section below.
You can also read our Summary of Proposed Changes document for more information on all revisions proposed.
Proposed change
The intent of Section SE has been clarified to distinguish between tuna and non-tuna RFMO-managed fisheries:
• Mandatory use: main commercial tuna species (skipjack, yellowfin, bluefin, albacore and bigeye) managed by defined tuna RFMOs.
• Voluntary use: non-tuna stocks managed by tuna RFMOs or non-tuna RFMOs, and shared stocks that are not managed by RFMOs.
Rationale
The revisions intend to resolve differences between the management measures prioritised by non-tuna RMFOs and the measures required in Section SE. This will ensure that well-managed fisheries using effective alternative methods to adopt harvest strategies are not prevented from achieving MSC certification.
Proposed change
The 'entry requirement' for management bodies to commit to using Management Strategy Evaluation before applying Section SE has been removed. Assessors will now consider the fishery’s commitment to resolve conditions of certification via the established process in the Fisheries Certification Process instead.
Rationale
The removal of this pre-condition for applying Section SE will improve the efficiency of an assessment and remove duplication. Assessors are already required to verify the feasibility of relevant commitments and Client Action Plans when conditions are set.
Take part in our consultation
A 60-day public consultation on the proposed revisions is open until 8 December 2026.
All stakeholders and partners with an interest in the Fisheries Standard and assessment process can view the proposals and provide feedback through an online survey.
Attend our webinars
We will hold a series of webinars between 2 and 6 November 2026 to support participation in the public 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.
To account for different time-zones, two webinars focusing on the same revisions will be held each day at 07:00 – 08:00 UTC and 16:00 – 17:00 UTC.
Next steps
All feedback from the consultation will be analysed and used to refine the proposed revisions alongside findings from mock assessments, pilot tests and impact assessments.
The MSC intends to hold a further 30-day consultation in April 2027.
The updated version of the Standard is expected be issued by September 2027 and come into effect six months after publication (early 2028).
If you have any questions about the Fisheries Program Revisions, please contact [email protected] or your local MSC representative.
