Q: Can a CoC holder ever buy certified product from a suspended fishery?

A: Clause 1.1 of the CoC Standards requires product to be purchased from certified suppliers, fisheries, or farms.

GCR clause 7.4.3.c and d.i allows fisheries to sell product during suspension providing the CAB has confirmed their ability to segregate by catch date.

The CoC holder buying from the fishery can check the MSC Notice of Suspension to confirm this. This is uploaded into Track a Fishery and the relevant section is as follows:

8. Statement on implications for selling fish caught as MSC certified/making claims after suspension date

Where the MSC Notice of Suspension confirms the Fishery can sell certified stocks during their suspension the CoC holder may purchase from the suspended fishery certified product they can confirm was harvested prior to suspension. This is considered compliant to CoC Std clause 1.1.

If the MSC Notice of Suspension is unclear on this point, MSC recommends the CoC certified buyer to contact the Fishery Assessment CAB to query this if needed, keeping MSC in copy (supplychain@msc.org).