Learn · Traceability

What Is Traceability?

Traceability means being able to follow a fish from the water to your plate — knowing who caught it, where, when, and how it was handled every step of the way.

The Problem It Solves

Seafood is one of the most complex food supply chains on earth. A single tuna caught in the Pacific may change hands a dozen times — vessel to dock, dock to processor, processor to importer, importer to distributor, distributor to retailer — before reaching your plate. At each handoff, information is lost, distorted, or simply never recorded.

The result is predictable: seafood fraud is rampant. Studies suggest that roughly one in five seafood purchases is mislabeled — cheaper species sold under premium names, farmed fish labeled wild, product from one country claimed to be from another.

Beyond fraud, the lack of traceability enables illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Product caught illegally moves invisibly through supply chains because no one can trace it back to its source. Traceability doesn't just benefit buyers — it's what makes enforcement possible.

~20%

of seafood is mislabeled

Oceana studies across global markets. Fraud peaks at retail, where traceability most often breaks down.

40%

of global marine catch is bycatch

Non-target species caught incidentally. Traceability systems don't prevent bycatch, but they make it visible.

$23B

per year in IUU fishing

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated catch laundered through opaque supply chains annually.

The Chain of Custody

Traceability is only as strong as its weakest link. Here's what needs to be recorded at each stage — and where it most often breaks down.

Harvest

Critical Tracking Event

Vessel name, fishing area, gear type, date, and species are recorded at the point of catch. A unique lot code is assigned. This is where traceability either starts — or doesn't.

Dock / First Receiver

Critical Tracking Event

The first receiver records the incoming lot, weight, condition, and ice-down timestamp. Under FSMA, first receivers are a regulated point of recordkeeping.

Processing

Transformation Event

When a whole fish becomes fillets or portions, the lot code splits and transforms. Good traceability preserves the link between output lots and their source harvest record.

Cold Chain Transport

Observation Event

Shipments are recorded with departure and arrival timestamps, carrier ID, and temperature logs. A gap here is how fraudulent product gets laundered into legitimate supply chains.

Distribution

Aggregation Event

Multiple lots may be combined or palletized. Each unit should carry the original lot code or a linked case code that resolves back to harvest data.

Retail / End Buyer

Shipment Event

The lot code — as a barcode, QR code, or invoice field — lets a buyer verify origin claims in seconds. Without it, the buyer has only the seller's word.

The Standards That Make It Work

Traceability doesn't require everyone to use the same software. It requires everyone to record the same key data elements at the same critical tracking events in a format that is interoperable across systems.

GDST (Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability) establishes those standards. GS1 provides the identifier system — the same technology underlying every supermarket barcode — that lets data travel with the fish across organizational boundaries.

Platforms like Wholechain translate these technical requirements into simple mobile workflows that don't require a programmer or an IT department. A fisherman with a smartphone can generate a verifiable, GDST-compliant harvest record in under a minute.

GDST Standards →GS1 Identifiers

What to Ask When You Buy

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What vessel or operation caught this fish?

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What region or fishing area did it come from?

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What gear type was used?

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When was it caught?

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Is there a lot number or traceability record I can check?

Boat to Table →Traceability Tools Buying Guide