This could mean tweaking its current business model while streamlining its chain of custody process, Nicolas Guichoux, who heads the MSC’s Europe activities, told IntraFish.
A key focus will be on making the MSC’s Chain of Custody (CoC) process better adapted to the foodservice segment, including at wet fish counters in retailers.
“A big part of our commitment, the big work in progress at the moment, is to make our chain of custody program more adapted to restaurants and fishmongers. Most of the companies at the moment that have gone through chain of custody are in the middle of the supply chain, like wholesalers or processors,” Guichoux said.
Unlike foodservice players, retailers typically only need CoC certification for a limited range of products, since most of the products they buy are pre-packed and sold as such to consumers, Guichoux said.
“That’s what has probably slowed down our progress in the foodservice segment. Despite these differences, we have witnessed a strong uptake over the past 12 months with companies like McDonald's and Sodexo but also with schools, universities and even Michelin starred restaurants - demonstrating the increasing interest from this important sector.”
At the moment, companies who want to use the MSC logo as a consumer-facing label on a product pay a fixed fee of $250 (€192.9) to $2,000 (€1,543) a year, in addition to 0.5 percent of their net wholesale sales value to the MSC.
To encourage more companies to use the logo, the MSC is consulting at the moment with some of its commercial partners to tweak its existing logo charging structure linking it to sales discount or marketing incentives, Guichoux said.
The organization is also looking at a “much more radical changereduce its dependence on logo licensing income, he said.
However, he said: “We haven’t started the process yet.”
Expanding to China, Japan
Nearly 15,000 products worldwide are currently MSC certified, representing sales of more than $3 billion (€2.3 billion).
To increase this number, the organization will also expand its reach to markets such as China, Japan, and South Africa, the MSC said.
“The primary market objective over the next five years is to double the overall market share for MSC-certified seafood,” the organization said in an outline of its five-year plan.
“That will equate to market share of around 30-40 percent throughout advanced markets in northern Europe, a quadrupling of current market share in the US and Canada, a growing MSC market presence in Australia/New Zealand, Japan and southern Europe, and introducing the MSC concept in China and select markets in Asia.”
Already, the organization has recruited its first Asia director as parts of plans to expand in China.
In southern Europe and Japan, it said, the aim is to have “at least a dozen major corporate commitments to the MSC” by 2017.
Registered as a non-profit charity in the UK, the MSC has two main sources of income: the logo licensing scheme on the one hand, and grants and donations on the other. The former generated £6.3 million (€7.9 million/$10.2 million) in the 12 months ending at the end of March 2011, a 54 percent increase from the previous year. Income from the latter was up by 15percent the same year, to £6.45 million (€8 million/$10.4 million).
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Da Nang City has fully implemented all recommendations from the European Commission (EC) regarding the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, creating an important foundation for the removal of the “yellow card” in the near future.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Hoa Vang district (Da Nang City), red tilapia farming is demonstrating clear economic efficiency, becoming a promising livelihood that helps many households increase their income. A notable example is the model of Mr. Huynh Ngoc Nam, who operates two red tilapia ponds covering more than 4 hectares, generating stable annual income.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In Gia Vien district, tilapia farming—particularly the “duong nghiep” strain—is expanding rapidly and gradually becoming an efficient production model for local farmers. Hatcheries in the area are supplying high-quality, uniform, and disease-free fingerlings, meeting the growing demand for commercial farming.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On the afternoon of March 19, Vice Chairman of the Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee, Le Van Su, chaired a meeting to address bottlenecks and propose solutions to expand the super-intensive whiteleg shrimp farming model using low water exchange and high biosecurity standards (RAS-IMTA).
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On March 10, 2026, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee issued Decision No. 1377/QD-UBND approving the Aquatic Animal Disease Prevention and Control Plan for the 2026–2030 period. The decision takes effect from the date of signing and replaces previous plans for the 2021–2030 period that had been issued prior to the administrative merger in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Duong, and Ho Chi Minh City.
(vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Chile imported more than USD 156 million worth of tuna, up 8.1% compared to the previous year and the highest level in the past five years. As the supply structure in this market is rapidly shifting, Vietnamese tuna is facing both opportunities to expand market share and increasing competitive pressure from Thailand, Colombia, and China.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vinh Long Province is stepping up efforts to develop brackish water shrimp farming in a sustainable direction, identifying it as a key sector in its agricultural structure. In 2026, the province aims to reach around 71,300 hectares of shrimp farming, with an output of over 314,000 tons.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ha Tinh Province is strengthening control over shrimp seed quality to minimize risks for the 2026 spring–summer farming season.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In February 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports reached USD 119 million, down slightly 5% year-on-year. However, thanks to strong performance in January, cumulative exports in the first two months of the year still reached USD 331 million, up 28% compared to the same period in 2025. Export activity slowed somewhat in February due to seasonal factors, particularly the Lunar New Year holiday, which disrupted production and shipments at many seafood processing enterprises.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Da Nang is accelerating the development of high-tech shrimp farming toward intensive production, disease control, and improved efficiency. Many shrimp farms have invested in automated environmental monitoring systems, continuously tracking indicators such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity, enabling farmers to promptly adjust pond conditions and reduce disease risks.
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