The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has launched a prototype fishery financial model that it said could support financing for the sustainable seafood sector.
According to the MSC, the new model gives banks and financiers more insight into risk and resilience within the seafood sector. It also said that the new model suggests well-managed, MSC-certified fisheries support a more resilient long-term economic model and that those fisheries are twice as valuable as an otherwise identical fishery that is not as well managed.
“There is valuable opportunity for the financial sector to integrate the risk reduction from the MSC certification process into credit assessment, valuation, and the conditions attached to finance for seafood supply chains,” MSC Head of Capital Markets Outreach Ray Dhirani said. “With disclosure frameworks moving towards risk assessments covering specific assets and locations, financiers will find that MSC certification can act as a third-party audited, fishery-level proxy for many of the indicators assessed as financially material for the seafood sector.”
MSC launched the new financial model during a blue finance panel at the Sustainable Seafood Summit in Tokyo, and said sustainably managed fisheries have lower risks, more reliable market access, and higher catches over time – which all contribute to higher overall values.
“MSC certification is a key due-diligence tool in this shift. Leveraging MSC certification can help to better understand and derisk supply chains by mitigating exposure to nature-based, regulatory, supply chain, and reputational risks,” MSC said. “The integration of seafood related risks and the derisking impact of MSC certification into mainstream financial models can also help drive more blue finance and, ultimately, better outcomes for the ocean.”
Access to financing has been a persistent issue for fisheries. Small-scale fisheries, which represent half of all wild-caught landings globally, have historically struggled to access financing, which means they also struggle to access important infrastructure like water treatment, sufficient cold chain facilities, reliable electricity, and the capability to meet data requirements. SSF Tech and Markets Intermediary Collective Coordinator Momo Kohen told SeafoodSource small-scale fisheries garner less than 1 percent of global ocean investment, and those who manage to get financing and market links often benefit little from it.
Another recent study by Conservation International found fishers that enrolled in eco-label and fishery improvement projects rarely obtained any value from their participation in those projects, with most of the value going to retailers, distributors, and exporters instead.
MSC said that its prototype fishery financial model aims to integrate the impact of improvements in fisheries management into a “discounted cash flow (DCF)” model.
“Most of that difference comes from the business itself – better margins from more resilient catches and improved access to markets – while the cost of MSC certification is a small fraction of a single year’s revenue,” MSC said. “Good management shows up in the accounts, as well-managed fisheries are better for the ocean and support a more resilient long-term economic model.”
MSC said certification also helps address the complexity of seafood supply chains for financial institutions by helping standardize data.
“Across the globe, there are 789 fisheries working with the MSC, with 624 being MSC certified, and MSC certification offers an independently audited, science-based assessment of the fishery itself,” MSC said.
MSC has itself contributed to fisheries in the past. In 2025, the organization announced a USD 6.4 million (EUR 5.7 million) investment in the Ocean Stewardship Fund by 2030. The organization announced the fund in 2019, with a goal of reaching USD 10 million (EUR 8.9 million), and has since raised its goal to USD 100 million (EUR 89 million). The main goal is to end overfishing, but it also contributes to a range of different initiatives to make fisheries more sustainable.
Access to financing has consistently been a concern for fisheries, even in the U.S., to the point that the U.S. is considering giving commercial fishing operations access to U.S. Department of Agriculture farm loans, unlocking a new avenue for financial support.
