technology

When it comes to tackling the social and environmental issues of our time, no one organization has all the expertise and capacity needed to solve these complex challenges alone. But together, we can move mountains—or, in the case of overfishing, turn the tide. A recent Partnership Agreement between Future of Fish and ABALOBI builds on this ethos, and seeks to drive large-scale systems change to benefit coastal communities and ocean ecosystems.

It’s been a strong year for fisheries improvement in Chile. As we wrote about in January, the government kicked-off 2019 with passage of a modernization law to strengthen enforcement and transparency across Chile’s extensive fisheries and supply chains. As part of this effort, Future of Fish is excited to continue our partnership with SERNAPESCA to improve data systems and build stronger infrastructure for protection and improvement of Chile’s fisheries—a partnership that was made official on July 17, 2019, through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The fish tech space is growing, and fast. It was just a few years back that industry folks and nonprofits alike were trying to get their heads around what end-to-end traceability might look like and which technologies might be used to facilitate it. Since then, we’ve seen technologies such as blockchain, electronic monitoring, and machine learning make a splash in the seafood and ocean conservation spaces. With the exploding number of companies and initiatives, it can be hard to keep up.

Halfway through February, and 2019 is already full of oceans and fisheries developments. Whether its legislation in Chile to help combat illegal, unregulated and unreported fisheries; damage to the Great Ocean Cleanup’s plastic-catching system; or strong words and promised action from world leaders, oceans and fisheries are making headlines. Here at Future of Fish, we’ve been thinking about the “big things” to watch in 2019—those initiatives and topics that may be critical drivers of more sustainable fisheries and healthy ocean ecosystems. Given that no one intervention or action alone is going to result in the change we need to see, it’s heartening to read about work happening in a broad range of areas. Here are five things we’re keeping an eye on in 2019. And we’re curious to know: what’s on your radar for this year?

We know them from grocery store checkouts—barcodes and QR codes are ubiquitous on retail shelves. What if that same technology could help us trace our fish? From seafood suppliers and producers to retailers and chefs, the power of technology to promote traceability and storytelling is catching on.

In part 2 of our 4-part series on how technology can help save the seas (with a little help), we turn our attention to innovations in regulation and enforcement. It might not sound exciting, but these companies are using satellites, aerial mapping, and drones to help fight overfishing and exploitation of the oceans.

Snapchat, instagram, remote-controlled drones. Technology is speeding along faster than we can install the latest iPhone update. And with so much time, energy, and money pouring into tech, we’re excited to see new innovations that can help our oceans as well.

Traceability technology entrepreneurs and experts provide recommendations, including four core functions for robust traceability, to combat IUU and fraud in U.S. seafood supply chains.