Using blockchain technology within the seascape to safeguard marine ecosystems and biodiversity, preserve food security and support sustainable fisheries.
Marine commodities have deep-rooted histories of domestic and international trade. In 2020, the international seafood industry was valued at USD 113.2 billion and expected to reach USD 138.7 billion by 2027 (1). Laws are implemented so fishers may only harvest their sanctioned catch of species from the zones they are allowed to fish in, using the correct equipment. Unfortunately, the current issue with the seafood hitting our plates is that we cannot determine if the fish we are eating was lawfully caught as our existing laws are not strong enough to track from bait to plate. Raw seafood is frequently subjected to multiple processing steps before reaching its final destination; it often experiences illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) activities, like illegal fishing and mislabelling.
Why is this a problem and why should you care?
We are currently facing major biodiversity losses, driven by human activities. Biodiversity losses reduce the ability of ecosystems to function effectively and efficiently, meaning things necessary to sustain life may become limited in the future, such as food and fresh water, putting millions of people’s lives at risk. Therefore, we must work to conserve biodiversity; one aspect of this is marine biodiversity. IUU fishing, a major driving factor of overfishing, jeopardises economic and food security, threatens marine ecosystems and regional stability, and is often associated with major human rights infringements and organized crime. Annual worldwide losses caused by illegal fishing have been valued at USD 36.4 billion, however this is likely to be an underestimate due to the hidden nature of illegal fishing (2). The international supply chain of fish products is multifaceted and loosely regulated – IUU seafood may easily enter and be distributed in the global market. Once integrated, IUU fish are very hard to identify. In order to conserve biodiversity, we need a reliable snapshot of the current state of biodiversity so we can know if current measures are effective and what next steps to take.
Infographic on the seafood industry (created by author) (1, 2, 3).
Introducing Blockchain…
A 2020 consumer survey showed 56% of consumers were prepared to spend more on fish from licenced sustainable fisheries, driving a shift, in supply chains, to use state-of-the-art technologies like blockchain (1). Blockchains are advanced, decentralised digital databases that enable transparent and secure data logging and sharing between two or more parties in a verifiable and tamper-proof manner (4). The data is stored in encrypted blocks that are linked together via a chain, hence the name blockchain. Blockchains act as immutable ledgers, meaning that recorded data theoretically cannot be tampered with, as the ledgers are copied and synchronised over the computers on a network. Each computer possesses an up-to-date copy of the ledger so that the contained information is not susceptible to a single point of failure and each copy is updated and authenticated in parallel by all parties. Any changes or data inputs can be tracked and viewed in real time and due to its nature, it is impossible for governing bodies and harder for malicious users to meddle with the network.
Technologically innovative measures must be used upon facing challenges within the seafood industry. The two primary issues regarding seafood identification that not only threaten marine biodiversity but are also costly are IUU-caught seafood sold into the market and the labelling of captured seafood as another species (particularly one of higher value) (1). The use of blockchains within seafood supply chains may provide economic, conservational and operational advantages whilst ensuring data immutability and public accessibility. Blockchains represent a potentially affordable, quick, precise and portable system for identifying seafood species and origin. We can easily track seafoods’ journey through the supply chain to build customer confidence in the product’s origin, safety and quality and allow food authorities to verify food regulations are met. It will help us tell if the seafood has been legally caught to minimise overexploitation of oceans.
This blockchain-based system aims to track marine commodities across the supply chain, from recording GPS coordinates of where the seafood is caught until it reaches its final destination – your plate (or your belly) (See Fig. 1)! Although not currently widely implemented, there are many possibilities for its use throughout supply chains. Commercial use of blockchains has however been observed, for example, IBM Food Trust. Numerous big retailers have joined this collaborative network, such as Nestle, Walmart, Unilever and Sustainable Shrimp Partnership (1). Furthermore, blockchains are not only linked to traceability solutions, but also incentivising schemes. For example, Ethereum, a blockchain network, may generate digital tokens that can be leveraged to incentivise sustainable fishing practices. Abiding fishermen can earn tokens, providing tangible and tradable proof of compliance which may promote stakeholder investments.
Fig. 1: This diagram outlines how seafood can be tracked from bait to plate using electronic catch documentation and traceability (eCDT) schemes to tackle environmental and socioeconomic issues within the international seafood market (5).
What does this mean for the future of IUU fishing?
Whilst blockchain is an attractive solution, the technology has its limitations. Blockchain technology is still considered relatively young and flawed, requiring further development, which can also be costly (4). Blockchain networks also consume lots of energy, are inefficient and require significant technical expertise to use; technological challenges may discourage user engagement. However, efforts have been focused on addressing these issues, such as developing more user-friendly interfaces and adopting other less energy-consuming consensus mechanisms (systems that validate data). Therefore, although blockchain is not a flawless solution for IUU fishing challenges, it is an appealing option in tackling this dilemma to increase visibility and accountability across the seafood supply chain.
Citations
1. Toward an Intelligent Blockchain IoT-Enabled Fish Supply Chain: A Review and Conceptual Framework. Ismail, S, et al. 11, 2023, Sensors, Vol. 23, p. 5136.
2. World Wildlife Fund. Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Causes and Effects. World Wildlife Fund. [Online] [Cited: 9 November 2023.] https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/illegal-fishing.
3. IBM. IBM Sterling Supply Chain Intelligence Suite: Food Trust. IBM. [Online] [Cited: 11 November 2023.] https://www.ibm.com/products/supply-chain-intelligence-suite/food-trust.
4. Blockchain technology-based sustainable management research: the status quo and a general framework for future application. Du, W, et al. 39, 2022, Environmental Science and Pollution Research International, Vol. 29, pp. 58648–58663.
5. United States Agency for International Development. From Bait to Plate: The Power of Electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability. United States Agency for International Development. [Online] [Cited: 9 November 2023.] https://www.usaid.gov/biodiversity/stories/from-bait-to-plate.
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