Tracking Fish from Ocean to Store
Sector: Primary sector · Industry: Fisheries · Organisation: Austral Fisheries · Maturity level: Pilot
Austral Fisheries uses blockchain technology to assign each fish a unique identification number that stores GPS coordinates of the catch, vessel information, and certificates. Customers scan a code on the packaging to receive real-time transparency about the entire supply chain from catch to supermarket. The project, developed together with WWF and BCG Digital Ventures, promotes sustainability through increased consumer trust.
Documentation status
- Project status: Pilot
- Evidence: Evidence high
- Editorial review: Ufuk Avci, 12 July 2026
Description
When buying fish in the supermarket, consumers usually do not know where, when, and how the product was caught. Austral Fisheries solves this problem by assigning each fish a digital identity on the blockchain that immutably stores all relevant information – from the exact catch location to the certification certificate. A simple QR code on the packaging is enough to trace this entire journey within seconds. The OpenSC platform, developed jointly with BCG Digital Ventures and WWF, was first used worldwide in January 2019 for toothfish from the Southern Ocean. The project demonstrates how technology can build trust in the food chain while making sustainable fishing practices economically more attractive.
Austral Fisheries, a fishing subsidiary based in Perth, Australia, launched a pilot in 2018 together with WWF Australia for a blockchain-based traceability system, building on a previously award-winning WWF pilot project for tracking Pacific tuna. In January 2019, this became the OpenSC platform – developed in partnership with BCG Digital Ventures – officially launched as the world’s first system of its kind, initially for Dissostichus eleginoides (Antarctic toothfish), caught in one of the most remote regions of the world. The blockchain stores GPS coordinates of the catch location, information about the fishing vessel, and sustainability certificates for each fish batch, making this data accessible to everyone via a QR code on the product packaging. After the successful launch with toothfish, the platform was expanded to cover a growing share of Austral Fisheries’ prawn catch, demonstrating the solution’s scalability potential. The overarching goal of OpenSC is to act as a global platform for food tracking and reduce the purchase of illegal or unsustainably sourced products through informed consumer decisions.
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
For companies along the fish product supply chain – from processors through traders to retailers – OpenSC offers a robust, tamper-proof proof of origin that significantly reduces liability risks in product recalls or sustainability violations. By integrating into the platform, trading partners and retailers can demonstrably prove to their own customers and regulators that their products come from legal and sustainably operated fisheries.
B2C — consumers perspective
Consumers receive, for the first time, the opportunity through the QR code on the packaging to transparently and in real time track the entire journey of their fish product – from the catch location in the Southern Ocean to the shopping basket. This enables consumers to make informed purchasing decisions based on verified sustainability data rather than relying on unverifiable marketing claims.
Employees perspective
For employees on fishing vessels and in processing plants, the introduction of the platform means an extension of daily work to include digital data collection steps, requiring appropriate training and process adjustments. At the same time, documenting their work helps make sustainable fishing practices visible and appreciated by consumers and buyers, which brings the quality and value of their work more to the fore.
Benefits
General
- Seamless, tamper-proof traceability of fishery products from catch to end customer
- Increase in consumer trust through objectively verifiable origin and sustainability data
- Support in combating illegal and unsustainable fishing through increased transparency
- Scalable platform that can be extended to other product categories
B2B — organisations
- Reduction of liability risks and reputational damage through verifiable compliance with sustainability and origin standards
- Differentiation from competitors in the premium segment for sustainable seafood
- Simplified fulfilment of regulatory requirements for food traceability
B2C — consumers
- Informed purchasing decisions based on verified and tamper-proof product data
- Direct contribution to promoting sustainable fishing through conscious consumer behaviour
Employees
- Enhancement of sustainable fishing practices through direct visibility of one’s own work to end customers
- Potential improvement of working conditions through increased appreciation and premium positioning of the company
Challenges
General
- Data quality depends on reliable recording at all supply chain points – gaps or errors at one point undermine the credibility of the entire system.
- Integrating all supply chain partners (fishers, processors, traders, retailers) into a common platform requires significant coordination effort.
- In remote fishing areas such as the Southern Ocean, a stable internet connection for real-time data transmission is a technical challenge.
B2B — organisations
- Convincing all supply chain partners to participate in the platform may encounter resistance, especially if actors have less interest in transparency.
- Investment costs for implementing the necessary hardware and software infrastructure on fishing vessels and in processing plants.
Employees
- Training and onboarding effort for crew members and processing staff who need to become familiar with new digital recording processes.
Technology foundation
The OpenSC platform, developed by BCG Digital Ventures in collaboration with WWF, uses blockchain technology for immutable recording of supply chain data. Blockchain is particularly suitable for this use case because each stage of the supply chain – from catch location through processing to retail – is stored as a tamper-proof entry, ensuring seamless, trustworthy traceability. The exact underlying blockchain infrastructure (e.g. Hyperledger or Ethereum) has not been publicly specified.
Implementation examples
OpenSC platform for toothfish and shrimp traceability
Austral Fisheries faced the problem that sustainably caught fishery products, despite elaborate certification, could not be distinguished from potentially unsustainably produced products by trade partners and consumers. Existing paper documentation was prone to errors, not viewable in real time and could not be efficiently passed along the entire supply chain.
Austral Fisheries implemented the OpenSC blockchain platform together with BCG Digital Ventures and WWF Australia to transparently and immutably document the entire supply chain for Antarctic toothfish and shrimp from catch in the Southern Ocean to the end customer. The launch took place in January 2019 as a global pioneering project of this kind.
Building on an award-winning WWF pilot project for tracking Pacific tuna, Austral Fisheries began developing the OpenSC platform in 2018 in cooperation with BCG Digital Ventures and WWF Australia. In January 2019, OpenSC was officially launched as the world’s first platform of its kind, with Dissostichus eleginoides (Antarctic toothfish) as the first product recorded on the platform. Each fish is assigned a unique digital ID under which GPS coordinates of the catch location, vessel information and sustainability certificates are immutably stored on the blockchain. Consumers can access the entire journey of the product in real time via a QR code on the product packaging. After the successful launch with toothfish, the platform was expanded to cover a growing share of the company’s shrimp catch, demonstrating the scalability of the solution.
The platform addresses the lack of transparency and traceability in the global fisheries supply chain, particularly the risk of illegal fishing (IUU) and the difficulty of credibly and efficiently communicating sustainability evidence to all supply chain partners and end consumers.
Tags
Supply chain transparency, Traceability, Sustainability, Food safety, QR code, OpenSC, Seafood