Digital transition is a key enabler to make EU fisheries more sustainable and competitive. The fisheries sector is complex as it catches fish from all over the globe, transform it and land it in remote places, for finally entering the EU market, the largest seafood market worldwide.

Traceability is the necessary barrier against fish originated from illegal, unreported or unregulated (IUU) fishing). It is generally said that 1 fish out of 4 comes from IUU fishing. Traceability associated with stronger fisheries control will reduce unfair competition from illegal sources, improve economic returns for honest fishers, develop consumer confidence and reduce overfishing.

Achieving the goal of net-to-fork traceability requires a progressive introduction of digital tools which have proven efficiency in other industry sectors. It also involves standardization of data so the information can transit seamlessly from the fishing vessel to the end consumer. At the end of its journey, the fish you eat can be associated with its full history.

The EU funded project FISH-X will develop a web platform which will collect data from the fisheries sector and display it dynamically. While protecting fishers’ interests, it will highlight the geographic complexity of fisheries and fish supply chains and support demonstrative use cases. It will help understanding the critical events followed by fish from the net to the consumer plate. It shows that fisheries control and fish traceability work together for achieving a common goal of sustainability and transparency.

In the upcoming digital talk, EU fisheries’ experts will share insights on new data use and cooperation possibilities to improve EU fisheries’ sustainability, to the benefit of fishers, consumers and marine biodiversity.