Why Aquaculture is Becoming Big on

The seminar explained how a number of aquaculture businesses\r\nwere working with the blockchain specialist Atea to\r\npilot projects to secure transparency, sustainability and traceability in their\r\nvalue-chains.

Alf-Gøran Knutsen, CEO of Kvarøy, backs the use of\r\nblockchain technology in aquaculture

In order to address issues related to costs, food fraud,\r\nfood waste, food-related illnesses and traceability, Atea has developed data\r\nplatforms to utilise blockchain technology that can securely and efficiently\r\ncollect, share and analyse vast quantities of data. The aquaculture industry\r\ncollects substantial amounts of data, but with key data being somewhat\r\ninaccessible, the potential to effectively utilise it remains problematic. As a\r\nmember of the Norwegian association of seafood businesses (Sjømatbedriftene), a\r\njoint session was hosted on how blockchain technology can secure the value\r\nchain for the ocean industries. Through IBM, blockchain is now commercially\r\navailable to combat fraud and document a long and complex production cycle for\r\nseafood, enabling consumers to fully trust seafood from Norway.

Delegates heard from several key companies working to create\r\na more sustainable and transparent value-chain, among them BEWI, IBM, BioMar\r\nand Kvarøy Fiskeoppdrett.

The latter gave the audience valuable insights into how they\r\nare working with Atea to implement blockchain technology.

Alf-Gøran Knutsen, CEO of Kvarøy, said: “It really comes\r\ndown to three specific reasons why we are implementing this technology

1. Security – the industry and the consumers must\r\nbe absolutely sure that the fish they are purchasing is the correct fish. We\r\ninvest heavily in sustainable farming and cannot risk inferior product being\r\nsold as our own.

2. Market demands – supermarket chains are\r\ndemanding proof; they want to know where the food is coming from.

3. Traceability – customers and consumers demand\r\ntraceability and the systems today are sub-standard and do not provide adequate\r\ninformation."

Having launched their oceans and aquaculture specialised\r\nteam only two years ago the northernmost branch of Atea, has already seen a\r\nmassive interest from the industry with regards to digital strategy, artificial\r\nintelligence and blockchain.

"Several projects have been launched using blockchain\r\nas well as other cutting-edge technologies to support the industry in making\r\nbetter, more effective decisions during the production cycle. Gathering data on\r\nthe environmental impact as well as feed, growth and fish health are key\r\nfactors when raising salmon sustainably. Support from Innovation Norge has\r\nenabled Atea to gather more relevant data, thus creating better solutions and\r\nmore detailed reporting back to the participating businesses. We are excited\r\nabout the opportunities this creates for our customers and partners," said\r\nTrond Henriksen, aquaculture manager at Atea Norge.

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“It really is simple,” added Espen Braathe at IBM Food Trust\r\nEurope. “Food fraud is a global business exceeding $10 billion annually.\r\nThis is big business; we need to ensure that our fish is traceable, and we can\r\ndo so by utilising blockchain technology.”

Source : The Fish Site