Traceability Archives - WWF Seafood Sustainability

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Category: Traceability

Jul

The road to more sustainable tuna: is scaling within reach?

Tunas are among the most commercially valuable fish on the planet and support small-scale and industrial fishing alike. Globally, fishers gather around 8 million metric tons annually at a dockside value of $43 billion. Tuna fisheries support people across the globe not only by enriching coastal communities with jobs, but also by providing an affordable source of protein and nutrients. However, this source of prosperity and security for so many coastal communities is at risk as many of the world’s valuable tuna species face serious threats.

The sustainability of tuna fisheries is a concern, driven by the urgency to address overfishing, and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices and ecosystem impacts. The conservation and management of tuna has not evolved to keep pace with increased capacity in tuna fisheries over the years, including larger, faster vessels that can operate further offshore for longer periods of time. The time to scale up tuna sustainability efforts is now.

Oct

Facilitated by WWF, GDST Relaunches as Newly Reorganized Industry-Rooted Organization

After nearly five years of its initial convening by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in partnership with the Global Food Traceability Center (IFT), the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) has now transitioned since October 3rd from an NGO-convened platform into a permanent organization that is self-sustaining, rooted in industry, and open to broad stakeholder involvement.

Apr

Shining a Light on Seafood Fraud

The last time you ate seafood at a restaurant did you consider that what showed up on your plate may not have been what you ordered? Chances are the potential for seafood fraud never crossed your mind, but it should have.

Seafood fraud is a common and profitable practice that not only compromises retailers, foodservice professionals and consumers, it also threatens our oceans and human health.

Mar

A Year of Disruption Didn’t Deter Progress on Traceability Standards

Fish bring life to our planet and connect us all to our shared oceans. Even in the most turbulent times, we find ways to maintain that connection and work toward a better future with our corporate partners across the seafood industry. That was especially true over the last year.

The pandemic disrupted seafood-related business in a multitude of ways, and while some of the chaos has been a shared experience, each business faced their own personal and unique challenges. So how do we take stock in a moment like this to see if we’re still on track to meet shared seafood sustainability goals? Looking at specific areas of work is a good place to start, particularly those areas where we’re able to work together while apart.

Oct

Better Data for Better Business with TransparenC

From pond to shelf, farmed shrimp goes through a complex supply chain made up of thousands of actors. Data about its farm and country of origin, species, embedded environmental impact, and conditions of production can be easily lost along the way. Compelled by consumer and investor demand for better transparency, retailers are beginning to realize the need for full end-to-end traceability systems to ensure they can track products and feed ingredients back to their source.

Mar

Leading Companies Launch First-Ever Global Seafood Traceability Standards

The Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST)—a major industry forum involving more than five hundred leading companies worldwide from across the seafood supply chain—released on Monday, March 16th the first-ever global standards for tracking seafood products from point of origin to point of sale.

These newly released Standards and Guidelines for Interoperable Seafood Traceability Systems, v1.0 are a critical step forward in the fight against illegal fishing and unethical labor practices and are game-changing for an industry under increasing pressure to demonstrate its compliance with high standards for ethical sourcing.

Nov

Steering the World Towards Traceable Seafood Supply Chains

Over the past three years, WWF has helped lead the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) to help establish the first-ever comprehensive industry standards for seafood traceability. With more than five dozen companies from around the world and across seafood supply chains sitting at the table, the GDST is drafting standards that will dramatically improve the efficiency, reliability, and affordability of tracking seafood, helping businesses obtain and share the information they need about the origins of seafood products. That will lead to more transparent and reliable seafood supply chains, as consumers increasingly demand and as governments increasingly require.

Sep

Mahi-Mahi Traceability at The Touch of a Smartphone

With an average annual catch of 50,000 metric tons and more than 4,200 fishers, Mahi-Mahi is one of Peru’s most important artisanal fisheries. WWF and its partners have been supporting this Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) since 2013.

This video takes us on a tour inside capacity-building workshops in La Tortuga, La Islilla, and San Jose, where fishing cooperatives, which recently received Mahi-Mahi fishing permits, are being trained on the use of a smart application for documenting landings using mobile phones.

Feb

Look Before You Blockchain

By: Christine Leong and Tal Viskin, Guest Contributors

When it comes to agriculture, what you don’t know can hurt you. That’s why companies are beginning to use blockchain technology to trace food products—notably, seafood, beef, and soy—back to their source. But, according to Accenture’s new report titled “Tracing the Supply Chain: How Blockchain Can Enable Traceability in the Food Industry,” using the technology well takes careful planning and wide collaboration.

Dec

Sysco is Committed to Seafood Sustainability

In 2009, Sysco Corporation – one of the largest purchasers of seafood in North America – began working with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to assess and improve the sustainability of its seafood supply chain. Through this collaboration, Sysco committed in 2011 to source its top 10 Portico® brand (Sysco’s own seafood brand) frozen and further-processed wild-caught seafood species from fisheries that were either certified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard, in full assessment for MSC certification or engaged in a comprehensive Fishery Improvement Project (FIP), by 2015.

Continuing its alliance with WWF, in 2016, Sysco committed to further improve the sustainability of its seafood procurement through 2020, incorporating additional elements to guide its seafood procurement practices and standards.