Ocean ecosystems are diverse and critical to planetary health. Challenges like IUU & over-fishing, climate change, and sea pollution are threatening these ecosystems and impacting seafood industries. Traceability within seafood supply chains is increasingly acknowledged as a key lever in verifying responsible management of fishery resources and reducing negative environmental and social impacts of seafood production. Moreover, supply-chain transparency can provide significant value in managing for assured supply and sustainability risk. This aspect becomes more relevant when recognizing the role of imported seafood fueling consumption demand.
Digital technology solutions and blockchain-enabled transparency and traceability in seafood are advancing rapidly in support of adequate monitoring and management of fisheries, in generating rich supply chain insights for fishing companies and meeting international trade obligations. in 2017, WWF-Australia co-founded OpenSC, a supply chain verification, traceability and reporting platform that uses existing supply chain data to monitor fishing practices, in real time in support of sustainable, legal, and ethical production. OpenSC’s technology has been proven ‘at scale’ in two significant Australian fisheries. It is also being proven in the Pacific, supporting Pacific tuna nations to safeguard the value of their tuna resources through improved management of fish stocks, reduced IUU and facilitating market access