🎙️ Interview - ECOCERT x MSC & ASC

Interview with William Morré, Commercial Manager MSC Benelux & Maurane Martin Hernandez, Market Development Manager ASC Belgium.

1. How were the ASC and MSC labels created?

William: The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) was founded in 1997 by the WWF and Unilever in response to the Grand Banks cod fishery collapse of 1992, which highlighted widespread overfishing and unsustainable fishing practices. The MSC's mission is to create an ecolabel and fishery certification program to encourage sustainable fishing by recognizing fisheries that meet its rigorous evidence-based standards for stock health and effective management.

Maurane: ASC was founded in 2010 as an impact-driven NGO. They partnered with the IDH (Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative) and WWF Netherlands to make aquaculture more sustainable. ASC is built on the principle of transforming seafood farming and is committed to championing real and impactful change. For this impactful change to take place, ASC sets strict standards for seafood and farms and delivers high assurance throughout the supply chain.

2. How reliable are the ASC & MSC labels?

William & Maurane: ASC and MSC's systems have been evaluated against, and comply fully with, the ISEAL Code - a globally recognized framework that defines practices for effective and credible sustainability systems. To ensure a credible, inclusive and transparent standard setting process the ASC and MSC standards were developed in line with the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization Guidelines and the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems.

Third-party certification, conducted by independent organizations like Ecocert, ensures a clear separation between the MSC as the standard-setter and the bodies responsible for assessing and certifying fisheries, farms and supply chain companies.

3. Who is ASC & MSC certification intended for?

William & Maurane: ASC and MSC both focus on the seafood industry. ASC focuses on seafood farming, whereas MSC's strict standards set the norm for sustainable fisheries. Both organizations create standards for different stakeholders throughout the supply chain, from farm or fishery to plate.

4. What is the link between the two labels?

William & Maurane: ASC and MSC both encourage retailers and other actors throughout the supply chain to source their seafood as sustainably as possible. ASC and MSC regularly work together on consumer-facing campaigns such as the “Check Your Fish” campaign which runs in September. This sensibilization campaign consists of a variety of activities, communication and partner campaigns to reach consumers and to create awareness and understanding regarding responsibly farmed or sustainably caught seafood.

Beyond communications, MSC and ASC also share the same Chain of Custody (CoC) standard. It provides assurance that products bearing the ASC or MSC label can be traced back to a certified source, whether wild or farmed.

To make this process more efficient for businesses, third-party certification bodies such as Ecocert are often authorized to audit against both the MSC and ASC standards. These audits can be conducted in a combined format, helping certified companies streamline compliance processes, reduce audit fatigue, and save on resources.

5. What are the main challenges in the fishing sector?

William: The fishing industry is complex due to the interconnectedness of ecological, scientific, economic, and social factors.

This complexity includes assessing and managing wild fish populations, addressing climate change impacts like shifting distributions, combatting Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, minimizing ecosystem impact and securing chain of custody within a global supply chain.

6. In three words, what are the main challenges ASC and MSC address?

William: For the MSC, the main challenges are captured within the three core principles of our fisheries standard. While challenging, the effectiveness of the MSC in addressing these challenges is also its greatest strength:

1. Sustainable fish stocks
2. Minimizing environmental impacts
3. Effective fisheries management

Maurane: The ASC Farm Standard sets responsible practices for global seafood farming. Its impact-based sustainability requirements cover animal welfare, farm management, human rights and environmental stewardship for fish, farm, people and planet.

7. What are your ambitions for 2026?

William & Maurane: For the “Check Your Fish” campaign, 2026 marks an important step as it builds on our first cross-regional collaboration with colleagues from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Our ambition is to deepen these synergies and establish the campaign as a recurring, high-impact event in the calendars of our partners.

Lastly, a key goal for our campaign is to continue communicating about the MSC and ASC labels and raise awareness about sustainable seafood across our markets. To do so, we are excited to work alongside a broad and diverse network of partners — from fisheries and seafood farms to retailers, supply chain actors, and certification bodies like Ecocert. This combined, collaborative effort is what truly drives impact, helping us reach more consumers and support the transition to a more sustainable seafood system.

William: MSC’s strategic goal for 2030 is to have one-third of global seafood landings engaged in our program. To reach this, we’re expanding into emerging markets, strengthening our presence in developed ones, and increasing support for fisheries on the path to certification — through initiatives like our Ocean Stewardship Fund and the new MSC Improvement Program, which bolster innovation and improvement efforts globally.

Maurane: As we look ahead to 2026, our focus will be on supporting the sector through two major milestones: the first full year of certified farms having to use feed conforming to the ASC Feed Standard; and supporting producers and auditors through the transition period towards the ASC Farm Standard, which requires full compliance by May 2027.

The transition period is crucial, and we are committed to providing producers and auditors with the guidance, training and resources they need to succeed. Our priority is to make this journey as smooth as possible, and we look forward to celebrating the first farm certified to the new Farm Standard in the year ahead. These two important projects are positive steps to driving real and lasting change in seafood farming across the globe.