The global push to know where seafood really comes from
Every year, roughly 20% of wild-caught fish enters global markets as illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) catch — seafood with no verified origin or proof of how it was caught. The economic cost of these destructive activities runs as high as $36 billion globally each year. Beyond sheer revenue loss, consequences range from depleted stocks and destabilized coastal fisheries, to market conditions that force responsible producers to compete against those operating in the shadows.
Traceability is one of the most powerful tools available for turning the tide on IUU and all its ramifications.
How seafood traceability works — and where it gets complicated
A traceability system tracks a product from harvest to plate, recording where fish was caught, by whom, using what method, and how it moved through the supply chain. Labels, digital identifiers, and independent verification all contribute to building a verified record. Done well, traceability lets managers and buyers verify which species are caught, ensure low-value or underreported fish are accounted for, and confirm whether a catch was made legally and sustainably.
Getting there isn’t always straightforward, though. Coverage gaps, inconsistent data quality, and the challenge of reaching smaller vessels and first-mile fishers all mean that implementation varies widely across the supply chain.
Newer technologies are helping close some of those gaps. AquaLedger, for example, combines blockchain technology with earth observation data to validate fishing and aquaculture practices with tamper-proof, verifiable records. Odaku equips small-scale fishers with QR code-enabled traceability, vessel tracking, and geofencing capabilities.
Getting the data to speak the same language
Even where traceability systems are in place, their value depends on whether the data they capture can be read and verified across different platforms, jurisdictions, and markets. A processor in Indonesia, a retailer in Europe, and a regulator in the US may all use different systems with different data formats, and when those can’t exchange information cleanly, the chain of custody breaks down.
The Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST), co-founded in 2017 by WWF and IFT’s Global Food Traceability Center, was established to address exactly this. GDST published the first global standard for interoperable seafood traceability in 2020, providing a common language so information about a fish can be shared, read, and verified across systems and borders. GDST and its partners have since developed a suite of open-source tools to meet supply chain actors where they are in that pipeline, reducing the technical lift of bringing data into conformance with global standards.
Where seafood traceability is gaining traction
Governments and markets worldwide are shifting from voluntary guidelines to strict, digital-first legal mandates. In a landmark 2025 move, Indonesia — one of the world’s largest seafood exporters — became the first country to commit to aligning its national traceability system with GDST standards, setting a precedent for other major exporting nations. The European Union’s updated Fisheries Control Regulation, which came into force in January 2026, requires companies trading seafood in the EU to record and transmit traceability data digitally throughout the supply chain, and the United States has simultaneously introduced its own standardized digital traceability requirements.
The pressure isn’t coming from regulators alone. Certification bodies, investors, and retailers are increasingly making traceability a condition of market access. Cost and complexity have long been barriers to delivery, but even that’s beginning to change. In early beta testing, one such interoperability tool has already shown it can cut development time for GDST conformance by 60–75%.
At a scale where large numbers of software providers, supply chain actors, and first-mile operators all need to come into alignment, this kind of efficiency gain can add up significantly.
Building a more accountable seafood system
Seafood traceability functions best as part of a broader toolkit. Combined with vessel monitoring, electronic catch reporting, and AI-driven data analysis, it forms a more complete picture of what’s happening from sea to shelf — and who is accountable at each step.
The infrastructure for end-to-end, interoperable traceability is increasingly within reach, and as Indonesia’s commitment shows, governments are beginning to move. The remaining work is to bring software providers, supply chain actors, and smaller operators onto common standards.
That’s a coordination challenge the industry is increasingly equipped to meet — through persistence and partnership.
Coming to the SAFET conference in Cebu, Philippines, Sept 8–10? Blake Harris, Managing Director, IFT Global Food Traceability Center, will be leading a panel on “Technology to Support Standards Implementation” and looks forward to connecting with attendees. For more information, visit the conference website today.