Blog Fisheries

Transparency and traceability in fisheries

by Dr Kimberly Riskas January 24, 2025

Transparency and traceability are key concepts relating to seafood production and trade. So what do these terms really mean?

 

 

 

What is transparency?

First, it’s important to understand that seafood is caught, farmed and traded all over the world¹. Demand for seafood continues to rise, and global markets are more connected than ever. As a result, seafood is often being consumed far away from where it was produced. This makes seafood supply chains very long and complex, with many ‘stops’ on the journey from the ocean to your plate.

Transparency refers to the availability of key information on seafood production and trade. This includes data on which fishing fleets or farms the seafood comes from, where it was caught, landed or processed, what company is behind the operations, and whether or not they are operating legally.

 

 

What is traceability?

Traceability refers to how easily a product can be tracked on its journey through the supply chain. 

For seafood, this means identifying who caught it (e.g. vessel name and nationality), when, where and how it was caught, and which wholesalers, processors, importers and distributors handled it at various points along the supply chain. 

Every step in the supply chain must be known in order for a product to be considered fully traceable. However, this information isn’t always made available to the public.

 

 

 

Why are these important?

Traceability and transparency are closely linked: in order to track a product accurately, first you need reliable, verifiable information. Without both, you can’t be sure that your seafood was produced legally, sustainably and ethically. 

For example, fish caught on the high seas might be transshipped (moved from one boat to another at sea) to a refrigerated cargo ship, or reefer. A vessel engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing might offload its catch to that same reefer. Once that happens, it becomes very difficult to distinguish which fish came from legal fisheries and which came from IUU fishing. 

Without transparency and traceability, bad actors can get their catches to market and profit from IUU fishing, environmentally-destructive practices, and worker exploitation. 

Transparency plays a key role in combatting IUU fishing. When information is readily accessible, there’s nowhere to hide. Transparency empowers governments to make evidence-based decisions on fisheries management, with positive outcomes for industry, communities and the environment.

Implementing traceability and transparency ensures all parties are held responsible for their role in the supply chain. When companies understand every step of their product’s journey, it’s also much easier to answer questions from consumers regarding a product’s origin, ethics and sustainability. 

Traceability also enables companies to resolve issues within their supply chains. In the event of contamination or a product recall, the company can identify affected shipments and alert buyers.

 

 

 

What are the challenges to implementing traceability and transparency?

There are many obstacles to implementing traceability and transparency in the world’s fisheries. 

Significant political will and resources are needed to set up frameworks for collecting, compiling and publishing fisheries data. Depending on the country, data on seafood production exists, but the level of completeness varies depending on the country and its capacity to monitor its fisheries and aquaculture sectors. On the other hand, detailed information on trade is often considered commercially sensitive, and is kept confidential. As a result, important data on seafood production and trade is not always available to the public.

Fortunately, new tools are making fisheries data more accessible to the public. Global Fishing Watch² hosts a platform displaying location data for various fleets around the world, allowing anyone to track fishing activities in near-real time. Another tool, the Combined IUU Vessel List³, provides a summary of all vessels that have been identified by Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) as engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. 

Robust traceability systems can be expensive and resource intensive, and require cooperation from the entire supply chain. The Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST)⁴ was established in 2017 and provides standards for digital seafood traceability projects. Increasingly, major seafood importers – such as the EU, USA and Japan – are requiring traceability for their imported seafood. 

 

 

 

How does the seafood we eat in Australia stack up?

In Australia, over 65% of the seafood we eat is imported. Most of our seafood is imported from Vietnam, Thailand and China, but we also import from New Zealand, Norway and many other countries⁵. As a result, our imported seafood often travels thousands of kilometres before reaching our plates. 

For most imported seafood, we only collect the bare minimum of information needed for traceability. Our labelling laws are weak and don’t tell the full story of our seafood’s provenance. This lack of traceability and transparency leaves Australians in the dark when it comes to understanding what they’re eating, and where and how it was caught or farmed.

Australia is lagging behind other major global markets. The European Union implemented a seafood imports framework in 2010, the USA in 2018, Japan and Korea in 2020. This is a crucial piece of legislation that will deliver benefits for legitimate fisheries, consumers and our oceans.

The Australian Government is currently considering adopting a framework to prevent the importation of the products of IUU fishing. The framework would increase the amount of information we collect at our borders, particularly for species at high risk of originating from IUU fishing, such as sharks, squid and prawns. 

 

 

What is AMCS doing to improve transparency and traceability in fisheries?

AMCS is calling on the government to release an ambitious seafood imports framework with a clear implementation timeline. The main proposals include:

  • Catch documentation scheme (CDS) to monitor species at risk of coming from IUU fisheries;
  • Reform of tariff codes to allow more clarity on what we’re importing; and
  • A Seafood Imports Stakeholder Expert Committee (SISEC) to guide this implementation.
  • AMCS is also strongly encouraging the government to expand this framework to include human rights issues, which are known to occur in supply chains of many popular products, such as squid and tuna.

You can read our submissions to the consultation process in 2023 and 2024.

In November, AMCS joined the Coalition for Fisheries Transparency (CFT). This global network of civil society organizations works to improve transparency and accountability in fisheries governance and management. It aims to implement the principles of the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency, which covers three critical areas: vessel information, fishing activity, and  governance and management. Together, we are striving to improve traceability and transparency in fisheries.

 

 

 

References:

  1. FAO. 2024. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 – Blue Transformation in action. Rome.
  2. https://globalfishingwatch.org/
  3. https://iuu-vessels.org/
  4. https://thegdst.org/about/
  5. FRDC Australian Seafood Trade Dashboard. https://www.frdc.com.au/australian-seafood-trade-dashboard