Provenance pilot blockchain technology for tracing yellowfin and skipjack tuna fish in Indonesia from catch to consumer. Mobile, blockchain technology and smart tagging were used to track fish caught by fishermen with verified social sustainability claims. The goal was to aid robust proof of compliance to standards at origin and along the chain, prevent the “double-spend” of certificates and explore how these new technologies could form the basis for an open system for traceability powering consumer-facing transparency for food and other physical goods. The pilot was successful in tracking responsibly-caught fish and key social claims down the chain to export. Provenance’s ambition was not to demonstrate yet another digital interface, but a solution to the grave need for data interoperability: for tracking items and claims securely, end-to-end, in a highly robust, yet accessible format without the need for a centralised data management system. It was found that blockchains meet these needs and offer an exciting paradigm shift necessary for traceability in such vast complex supply chains as the SE Asia fishing industry.
