MSC and ASC certification for seafood your buyers can trace to a certified source.

What it is

What are MSC and ASC certification, and what are they used for?

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) are independent programmes that set standards for seafood. MSC covers wild-capture fisheries: its Fisheries Standard looks at the state of the fish stocks a fishery targets and the effect of fishing on ecosystems and habitats. ASC covers aquaculture: its Farm Standard sets out how a farm should operate, including the health and welfare of the animals it raises and the human rights of the people who work there, and a separate Feed Standard applies to the mills that supply ASC farms.

A fishery or farm certificate only covers the point of harvest. Each business that then owns the product and sells it as certified needs chain of custody certification. MSC and ASC share one chain of custody route, so a single set of controls can handle both. Seafood that stays identifiable along that chain can carry the programme's label, such as the MSC blue fish label.

Current editions. MSC Fisheries Standard version 3.1, dated 22 July 2024, with the Fisheries Certification Process at version 3.1. MSC Chain of Custody Standard: Default Version v5.0, and Group Version v2. ASC Farm Standard v1.0, published May 2025 and updated to v1.0.1 in August 2025, with interim updates since; ASC has extended the deadline for farms to move to it, so confirm your transition date with your conformity assessment body. ASC Feed Standard v1.2. MSC is reviewing its chain of custody programme and published drafts for public consultation in 2026; any change takes effect only on the dates MSC announces.

Who it is for

Who needs MSC or ASC certification?

The certificate follows the product and the claim, not the size of the business. Organisations come to Sterling for MSC and ASC from four starting points:

• A retail or food service customer wants certified seafood. Supermarkets, caterers and brand owners often write MSC or ASC into their sourcing policies. You need the right certificate for your step in the chain, in place before the next listing or contract round.
• A tender or export market asks for it. Public catering contracts and importers in some markets ask for certified product and a certificate number on the documents.
• A regulator or trade body is pushing traceability. Labelling, origin and legality rules raise the bar on records. Chain of custody gives you a disciplined way to trace every lot, and we work alongside your legal advisers where regulatory interpretation is needed.
• Your group or parent company has made a commitment. A sustainability pledge from head office becomes a practical task for each processing plant, farm or trading company.

Certification proves control over what you source and sell. It does not replace your food safety system, which still has to meet its own standards.

Requirements

What are the main MSC and ASC requirements?

MSC and ASC are programmes made up of several standards, and each business is assessed only against the one that fits its role. The list below maps them at title level; during the engagement your practices are checked against the current version of the applicable standard, requirement by requirement.

• MSC Fisheries Standard: for wild-capture fisheries, covering the health of the target stocks and the impact of fishing on ecosystems and habitats.
• MSC Fisheries Certification Process: the rules the conformity assessment body follows to assess a fishery and decide on certification.
• ASC Farm Standard: for aquaculture farms, with principles that include animal health and welfare and a strong emphasis on the human rights of farm workers.
• ASC Feed Standard: for feed mills producing feed for ASC-certified farms.
• MSC Chain of Custody Standard, Default Version: for each business that owns and sells certified seafood, keeping it identified, separated from uncertified product and traceable to a certified source.
• MSC Chain of Custody Standard, Group Version: for organisations that bring several sites or members under one chain of custody certificate with central control.
• Chain of custody certification requirements: the rules the certification body applies when auditing chain of custody, which set how your audit is planned and reported.
• Label and claim use: on-pack labels, including the MSC blue fish label, and certified claims only on product covered by a valid certificate, used as the programme's rules allow.

Certification process

How do you get MSC or ASC certified?

First decide which standard applies, then put the controls in place, then let an accredited conformity assessment body audit them. Sterling prepares you and stays with you through the audit; the body that audits you makes the certification decision.

1. 01
   Define the certificate you need.Your role in the chain, the species and products, wild or farmed, the sites, and whether a single-site or group certificate fits.
2. 02
   Gap analysis: compare current practice with the standard.Sourcing, receiving, storage, labelling and records for chain of custody, or farm and fishery practice, reviewed with actions, owners and dates agreed.
3. 03
   Implement controls and train people.Procedures that match how product actually moves, staff at goods-in, production and dispatch trained, and records kept in daily work.
4. 04
   Test the system internally.An internal audit and a traceability test from sale back to supplier, with volumes reconciled and any gaps closed with evidence.
5. 05
   Complete the independent audit.Choose an accredited conformity assessment body, host its audit, close any nonconformities it raises and receive its decision; the controls then keep running for every later audit.

Check the route before you sign. Confirm that the conformity assessment body is accredited for MSC or ASC and for your type of certificate, ask which standard version it will audit against, and look up any certificate a supplier gives you in the programme's public certificate listings. A certificate offered without an audit of your operation is worthless to a buyer. How to choose a credible MSC or ASC provider · The certification buyer's checklist

Cost

How much does MSC or ASC certification cost?

The cost follows the standard, the number of sites and how well product is already tracked. What we promise is a proposal in which every component is visible and nothing is added later.

Timeline

How long does MSC or ASC certification take?

Chain of custody is usually the quickest route, typically two to four months, because it builds on purchasing, stock and dispatch controls most food businesses already run. A farm moving to the ASC Farm Standard or a fishery facing its first assessment usually takes longer, and the gap analysis sets the realistic range. These are Sterling's estimates, confirmed for your case in the plan.

If a buyer has given you a listing date, share it on the first call and we will tell you accurately what can be ready by then.

Your engagement

What your MSC or ASC engagement includes

Sterling OS™ shapes the engagement. You choose the level of support: Design™, where we guide and your team builds the controls, or Drive™, where we manage the work for you. After certification, Sustain™ keeps the system current through supplier changes, new species and standard revisions, and Automate™ is Effivity, where the records live. Sterling does not certify; an accredited conformity assessment body audits you and decides.

• Scope, gap analysis and implementation plan

  The right standard confirmed, with actions, owners and dates agreed before work starts.

• Procedures and traceability design

  Built around your real product flows, on Sterling's own template sets, with your purchasing and operations teams.

• Effivity ISO & GRC software

  Supplier certificates, lots and reconciliations in Effivity from day one, included with the engagement at no additional cost.

• Training for everyone

  Internal auditor training for your audit team, as applicable to your standard, and preferential Sterling Academy access, including complimentary awareness training for your people as part of the engagement.

• Internal audit and traceability test

  Conducted or facilitated as agreed, with every gap closed with evidence before the audit.

• Audit readiness and support

  Preparation for the conformity assessment body's audit and support until its decision.

Certification decisions remain with the independent conformity assessment body.

Often combined with

Standards organisations pair with MSC / ASC

• BRCGS Food SafetyBRCGS Food Safety certification consulting for food manufacturers: HACCP plan, site standards and controls ready for a graded audit, announced or unannounced.
• BRCGS Storage and Distribution · Agents and BrokersBRCGS Storage and Distribution certification and Agents and Brokers: Issue 4 and Issue 3 requirements, scopes, audits and cost factors, with Sterling's support.
• FairtradeFairtrade certification and requirements: which Fairtrade International standards apply, FLOCERT's audit, cost and timing, and how Sterling prepares you.
• FAMI-QS / GMP+FAMI-QS and GMP+ certification for feed businesses: how the two schemes differ, their requirement documents, the audit route and how Sterling prepares you.
• FDA FSMA (US)FDA FSMA compliance for food facilities, importers, farms and carriers: preventive controls, FSVP, food traceability and records ready for FDA inspection.
• FSSC 22000FSSC 22000 certification consulting for GFSI-recognised food safety: ISO 22000, sector PRPs and FSSC requirements, ready for a licensed body's audit.