New Research Reveals Flawed Swiss Certificates for Fish from Western Sahara
22.12.2025 | from terre des hommes schweiz
Reading time: 4 minutes
Photographer: Elli Lorz
22.12.2025, The fishing grounds in the Atlantic off the coast of Western Sahara are (still) rich, attracting numerous interests. A new report reveals that Swiss companies certify fisheries products and businesses from the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara as sustainable, publishing flawed origin information – misleading consumers and indirectly legitimising the occupation.
The organisation Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) has examined several companies that certify fisheries businesses or products from the occupied Western Sahara as 'sustainable' and 'from Morocco'. The new report also includes research on the two Swiss companies SGS and IQNET. In Switzerland, terre des hommes schweiz is the contact point for Western Sahara Resource Watch.
Consumers are being misled. Two-thirds of Western Sahara have been occupied by Morocco for 50 years. Since 1991, the Sahrawi people have been waiting for the promised referendum on self-determination. Certifying fisheries products and businesses from or in the occupied part of the Western Sahara as 'sustainable' is ethically questionable. Moreover, the origin claims on these product certificates are allegedly or most likely incorrect: the businesses are not based in Morocco but in Western Sahara, and part of the products comes from the adjacent waters. However, all certificates are issued to 'Morocco', which is inaccurate and does not correspond to the official FAO fishing areas (UN Food and Agriculture Organisation).
Since 2015, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has clarified in ten consecutive rulings that the territory of Western Sahara is separate from Morocco. In its latest ruling (2024), the ECJ explicitly stated that products originating from Western Sahara should only be labelled as 'Western Sahara' when imported and sold.
In Switzerland, legal distinctions between Morocco and Western Sahara must be made in terms of origin and source claims for customs and consumers. However, the Swiss certification company SGS releases incorrect information concerning MarinTrust certificates, which are supposed to prove 'responsible' fishing practices.
With an appropriate certificate, products or businesses can carry the MarinTrust label for one to three years before being re-evaluated. These certifications are problematic and unacceptable for the reasons outlined and mislead consumers, indirectly legitimising Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara.
Inspection, verification, and certification company SGS S.A., headquartered in Geneva, offers certification services in various sectors, including food safety and environmental protection. Thus, the company has often collaborated with Moroccan industries in the occupied Western Sahara.
In 2022, the Peruvian SGS subsidiary certified the company Protein and Oil Industry with the MarinTrust Global Standard for Responsible Supply. According to the certificate, the company sources its sardines and horse mackerels from Morocco. However, the firm is located in Dakhla, Western Sahara, 450 kilometres south of Morocco.
In the same year, the subsidiary issued the same certificate for the company KB Fish SARL, based in El Aaiun, Western Sahara. As the research shows, it also lists sardines from FAO Zone 34, Central Zone B, and Southern Zone C. Zone B includes waters off Morocco and Western Sahara, Zone C only those off the coast of Western Sahara.
In 2024, the Moroccan company CIBEL II also received the MarinTrust certificate, which states that it sources sardines from FAO Zone 34, Southern Zone C. This zone, however, is located in Western Sahara.
International Certification Network IQNET, Bern. Three fishery companies located in Western Sahara and not in Morocco claim to be IQNET certified. It is assumed these certifications were conducted by Quality Austria, a member of the IQNET network.
SOCOPO Maroc in El Aaiun displays the IQNET logo alongside the Quality Austria logo on its website. According to its self-description, the company is in Morocco, but as mentioned, El Aaiun is in Western Sahara.
Mogafish SARL has these two logos on a certificate along with the geographic indication Dakhla, Morocco. Dakhla is located in Western Sahara.
Tisco COPELIT in Al Aaiun also claims to be IQNET certified on a company directory page.
Who is responsible? Both SGS and IQNET have been contacted about the issue multiple times by Western Sahara Resource Watch and terre des hommes schweiz. IQNET, Quality Austria, and MarinTrust have yet to respond to the inquiries.
SGS replied to WSRW, the network partner of terre des hommes schweiz, in early December 2025: It is not them, but MarinTrust that is responsible for verifying the origin and accuracy of the applicant's information about the fishing zones. SGS only checks 'compliance with traceability requirements according to the MarinTrust standard.' Furthermore, SGS states in their response to WSRW: 'This verification does not include the determination of political boundaries of fishing zones, only the confirmation of their conformity with FAO codes and the operational details described in the official application form approved by MarinTrust.' However, the certificate for the aforementioned company CIBEL II does indeed contain an – albeit incorrect – country specification.
Media Contacts
Western Sahara Resource Watch (WSRW) Contact Switzerland
Sylvia Valentin, Development Policy Campaigns terre des hommes schweiz, sylvia.valentin@terredeshommes.ch
Communication and Media terre des hommes schweiz
Daniela Mathis, daniela.mathis@terredeshommes.ch, +41 61 338 91 69
terre des hommes schweiz
Kasernenhof 8
4058 Basel
+41 61 338 91 38
www.terredeshommesschweiz.ch
Editor's note: Image rights belong to the respective publisher. Photographer: Elli Lorz
Conclusion of this article: « New Research Reveals Flawed Swiss Certificates for Fish from Western Sahara »
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Original article published on: Neue Recherche zeigt fehlerhafte Schweizer Zertifikate bei Fisch aus Westsahara