RFM Transition
The Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) program is continuing its global expansion. As part of this growth into new regions, RFM has rolled into Certified Seafood International (CSI). Existing RFM fishery and Chain of Custody certificates remain valid and unaffected. Below are answers to common questions from RFM Program stakeholders.
| What’s Changed | What it Means for RFM Clients | |
| Fisheries Standard | A new Fisheries Standard will be phased in but will maintain the same UN FAO and fishery management-focused principles of the RFM Standard. | RFM fishery clients’ certifications remain current and will have until the next full reassessment or three years (whichever is greater) to transition to the new CSI Standard. |
| Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard | The existing shared RFM / Iceland Standard remains in place. | RFM CoC clients’ certifications remain current and will have until the next re-audit to transition to the CSI CoC Standard. |
| Program Costs | We are maintaining RFM’s commitment to minimizing overhead and removing costs from the sector. A new program fee structure will be implemented in 2026. | CSI / RFM representatives will reach out when more specifics are finalized. |
| GSSI Status | The RFM GSSI benchmark transfers to CSI. | CSI will continue to meet market requirements of a GSSI benchmarked certification program. |
| Fishery Certification Process | CSI continues to certify at the fishery, not fleet, level with mandatory certificate sharing. | CSI maintains the bar set by RFM with no allowance for serious deviations while maintaining accessibility through mandatory sharing of fishery certificates. |
| Logo | The Program logo remains the same, reflecting the new Program name and retaining the option to feature harvest origin.   | RFM clients who utilize the RFM logo will control the timing for their logo transition. We’ll provide updated logo artwork and specifications for your use. |
| Certification Bodies (CB’s) | Existing RFM CB’s will be trained on the new Fisheries Standard and CoC. | You can use your current CB’s for both fishery and CoC certification. |
| Program Points of Contact | RFM staff members are a part of CSI. | RFM clients still contact Jeff Regnart at jregnart@csicertified.org and Tricia Sanguinetti at tsanguinetti@csicertified.org |