The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) plans to release new technical amendments to its Version 3.0 standard in July 2024 that the organization said will help correct issues with its initial release.
The MSC originally released Version 3.0 in May 2023 after a review process that began in 2018. The review included the participation of over 1,000 stakeholders and was considered one of the most comprehensive reviews ever conducted by the organization.
However, MSC delayed implementation of the revised standard after receiving feedback from a number of stakeholders that there were problems with it, including that it was too difficult to implement due to extensive information-reporting requirements and management agencies not having all the required data to meet the MSC's evidence requirements framework.
"It is clear that V3 as released has proven problematic and challenging to apply. This is deeply regrettable,” MSC Chief Executive Rupert Howes said in a release. “Our independent assessors must be able to apply the standard with confidence, and our requirements must be unambiguous for our stakeholders and practical for our fishery partners.”
As an interim measure, MSC said it will be releasing the amended standard in July, after the MSC Board of Trustees approved the changes at a meeting on 20 June. Those amendments won’t change the level of performance expected of fisheries but will ...
