A Review of Adoption of Block Chain in Seafood Supply Chain

Abstract

Seafood production is important to maintain the protein input of humans from ancient times. Though seafood fraud is not a hot topic known by the public, the occurrence rate is becoming higher as an increasing number of types of advanced technology has been adopted to detect the information claimed by the seafood products documentation, including species, production methodologies, and geographic origins. Seafood fraud has been related to negative impacts on the ecosystem, economics, and human health. This industry is supported by a traditional, fragmented, and highly competitive supply chain.

Blockchain is obtaining increasing attention for its usage of distributed ledger technology to build trustworthy, decentralized traceable systems, resulting in its ability to keep transparent information recorded in a chronological manner, which enables users to trace the product to the first producer. The adoption of blockchain in the seafood supply chain will upgrade the traditional chain to transport safer and healthier seafood to consumers, reduce seafood fraud, and protect the ecosystem of the sea and the planet. This paper analyzed the problems of the seafood supply chain, explored two pioneer business models that have already adopted blockchain in some seafood markets, and discussed the challenges of blockchain adoption.