Seafood Transparency: Key Challenges & Benefits

There has been an increased demand for seafood transparency in recent years. 

Many have argued that greater transparency could solve a number of key issues within the seafood industry, including supply chain management, consumer protection, and problems relating to biodiversity. 

When we talk of seafood transparency, the questions we are looking for answers to include the following:

• Are vessels fishing only in the areas they are licensed to do so? 
• Are those working the waters fishing the pre-agreed quantities and species? 
• Is all of the above traceable? 
• Are national and international laws being adhered to? 

There is also the shared data between those within the industry, that helps with efficiency and to ensure environmental protection. 

Seafood Source cleverly defines transparency as the disclosure of information to shareholders, customers, consumers, and regulatory bodies. 

Why Do We Need Seafood Transparency? 

When dealing with a resource as valuable as our fish stock, seafood transparency is a necessity.

That is because illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing causes a huge number of problems for both the natural flora and fauna within our waters, as well as the economy and seafood industry as a whole. 

Therefore, plans and regulations that result from data unveiled can help deter IIU and support a more economically and environmentally sustainable way of working.

Seafood transparency helps the following: 

• Supply customers with reliable product information; 
• The overall management of fish stocks;
• Creates more efficient supply chains;
• Helps with management of oceanic ecosystems. 

Not Just an Environmental Issue

The seafood industry has experienced immense growth over the past couple of decades. 

In numbers, each year, the industry produces over $360 billion worth of seafood. 

Unfortunately, the emphasis on sustainability doesn’t  always match the emphasis on economic growth. 

This fact has led to a mismanagement of fish stocks, with many endangered and protected species being caught as bycatch. 

That problem, coupled with issues around the maintenance of ecosystems and pollution have led to further calls for increased data sharing. 

It is not just an environmental issue either. In fact, economies loose billions of dollars every year due to overfishing, pollution and disease. 

There is a clear connection between environmental factors and economical ones, when it comes to transparency. 

The connection between transparency, climate change and economic challenges was discussed in a 2019 WWF report, entitled “Risk and opportunity in the seafood sector: The business case for sustainability.”

It read: “It is in the fundamental interest of businesses and the financial institutions that invest in them to take a more transformational approach to managing the environmental and social risks inherent in the sector.” 

Blockchain & Seafood Transparency

A report from DNV and Deloitte pointed towards blockchain technology as a means to improve transparency within the seafood industry. 

This would involve the sharing of data independently, that could lead to improvements throughout the fishing industry. 

They reported that this technology could meet “the demand and need to increase transparency to improve operating efficiency across the supply chain, equip the end consumers with trustworthy product information and to manage fish stocks and biological ecosystems more sustainably.”

Other Challenges

Outside of technological opportunities, there are other areas of potential improvement around transparency. 

To start, there are challenges around trust, resource management and weak governance which the industry still have to face. 

If we can create a more transparent seafood industry, there will be both economic and environmental benefits. 

This has to be a clear goal for all.