Fishcoin - Blockchain-based Seafood Traceability
Sector: Primary sector · Industry: Fisheries · Organisation: Fishcoin, IBM, Sjømatbedriftene · Maturity level: Concept
Fishcoin is a decentralized, blockchain-based ecosystem for tracing seafood from catch to consumer. The system uses the Trace Protocol, a specially developed blockchain platform, to ensure transparent and secure data along the entire supply chain. Through a token system, stakeholders are incentivized to capture and share data about catch location, fishing methods, processing, and transport.
Documentation status
- Project status: Concept
- Evidence: Evidence high
- Editorial review: Ufuk Avci, 15 April 2026
Description
Fishcoin solves the first-mile problem of seafood traceability: data is missing at the source — the fisher. Fishcoin uses a token economy as an incentive: fishers receive Fishcoin tokens for data entries (catch location, time, species, method). These tokens can be exchanged for mobile phone credit or other goods. Downstream actors pay tokens to access the verified data.
The Fishcoin protocol is a data-centric token ecosystem for the seafood supply chain. The fundamental problem: food traceability usually fails due to missing or manipulated data at the start of the chain — at the fisher, who often lacks a smartphone, internet access and incentive to enter data. Fishcoin reverses this incentive problem: fishers receive Fishcoin tokens for each verified data entry. Since many fishers in developing countries urgently need mobile phone credit, tokens are directly valuable as a means of exchange. Processors, traders, importers and supermarket chains buy tokens to gain access to traceability data. The blockchain ensures that once entered, data cannot be manipulated. The system thus combines economic incentives with transparency — for the first time, low-income fishers become part of a digital supply chain system. IUU fishing (Illegal, Unreported, Unregulated) costs the industry an estimated 23 billion US dollars annually; blockchain-based traceability can structurally counteract this problem.
Perspectives
B2B — organisations perspective
Importers and retailers can access verified catch data via the Fishcoin platform, thereby meeting MSC certification requirements and import regulations such as the US Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP).
B2C — consumers perspective
Consumers gain access to verified catch information — catch location, time, vessel and method — through QR code scans and can consciously choose sustainably and ethically caught fish.
Employees perspective
Employees in the supply chain must learn new digital recording processes and integrate them into their daily workflows. At the same time, they benefit from a more transparent and fairer trading system that better documents and rewards their work and contributions to sustainable fishing.
Benefits
General
- The system enables seamless and tamper-proof documentation of the entire seafood supply chain from catch to consumer.
- Token-based incentives motivate all actors to actively participate and record data, ensuring the quality and completeness of information.
- Blockchain technology guarantees transparency and immutability of data, effectively combating fraud and mislabelling.
B2B — organisations
- Companies can meet regulatory requirements such as the US SIMP programme while simultaneously strengthening their brand reputation through demonstrable sustainability.
B2C — consumers
- Consumers receive full transparency about the origin of their seafood and can make informed purchasing decisions for sustainable products.
Employees
- Employees benefit from a fairer and more transparent trading system that better documents their work and creates additional incentives through the token system.
Challenges
General
- Implementation requires cooperation from all actors in the fragmented seafood industry, which is complex given differing technical prerequisites and interests.
- The scalability of the system must be ensured to handle the growing data volume and increasing number of transactions in the global seafood industry.
B2B — organisations
- Companies must invest in new technologies and training, with the economic burden mainly shifting to hotels, restaurants and retailers.
Employees
- Employees must learn new digital recording systems and adapt their established workflows to the requirements of blockchain-based documentation.
Technology foundation
Fishcoin uses the Trace Protocol, a highly scalable, open-source blockchain platform designed as a decentralized peer-to-peer network for trustworthy, transparent, and secure data transmission. This specialised blockchain solution is particularly suitable for complex supply chains as it can process large volumes of data while ensuring the immutability of the recorded information.
Implementation examples
Norwegian seafood companies pilot
Norwegian seafood companies faced the challenge of meeting international traceability standards while simultaneously proving the quality and sustainability of their products. The fragmented supply chain made unified documentation and transparency towards international customers difficult.
The Norwegian association of seafood companies initiated a pilot project in 2019 together with IBM for blockchain-based traceability.
Sjømatbedriftene, the Norwegian association of seafood companies, launched a seminar and pilot project in 2019 in collaboration with IBM to implement Fishcoin. The project aims to improve the traceability of Norwegian seafood and meet regulatory requirements. The initiative focuses on integrating token-based incentives into the existing supply chain and training member companies in the new technology.
The project addressed the lack of transparency in the Norwegian seafood supply chain and the difficulty of meeting regulatory requirements of various export markets. Through blockchain implementation, a unified, tamper-proof documentation system was created.
Tags
Supply chain, Traceability, Token system, Sustainability, Transparency