MSC Improvement Program
Verified status:
Improvement Program

Overview

Fisheries in the MSC Improvement Program are not certified against the MSC Fisheries Standard, and their products cannot display the MSC ecolabel. When joining the improvement program, they commit to entering assessment against the Standard within five years. During this time, they are required to demonstrate progress against an improvement action plan, and this progress is verified by an independent assessor.

Fisheries are composed of one or more parts, each of which is entitled to receive an MSC certificate. These parts or “units” are defined by their target stock(s), fishing gear type(s) and (if relevant) vessel type(s), and the fishing fleets or groups of vessels.

When the term “Unit of Certification” is used for fishing units that are in the improvement program, it refers to the “Unit of Assessment” or “Unit of potential certification”. Expand a status below to view the parts that form this fishery. To check the detailed scope, open the Assessments page to get the latest report.

Units of Assessment

  • Improvement Program
    MSC UoC Number Species Gear Type Ocean Area Certificate Code
    UoC-3222 Yellow-eye mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri) Gillnets And Entangling Nets - Gillnets 57 (Indian Ocean, Eastern) Not eligible as Improvement Product
    UoC-3223 Japanese meagre (Argyrosomus japonicus) Gillnets And Entangling Nets - Gillnets 57 (Indian Ocean, Eastern) Not eligible as Improvement Product
    UoC-3224 Japanese meagre (Argyrosomus japonicus) Seine Nets - Beach seines: called swinger nets but they are used like seine nets using the current to enclose the net while one end is held on the shore 57 (Indian Ocean, Eastern) Not eligible as Improvement Product

View glossary of terms

Catch by Species

Species Reported Catch Year Metric Tonnes
Japanese meagre (Argyrosomus japonicus) 2023 28.9
Yellow-eye mullet (Aldrichetta forsteri) 2023 242.6

Information is provided by an independent Conformity Assessment Body as live weight (the weight of species at the time of catch, before processing) and where a fishing season covers multiple years, the end year is given as the reported catch year. Additional information is available in the latest report, see the assessments page.