Overview

SMART4SEA at glance

Duration

October 2025 – March 2028

Budget

2,351,688.43€, funding amount (ERDF): 1,763,766.32€

Partners

10 partners

Case studies

3 fisheries operarting in the Atlantic area and 3 seafood companies

Countries

4 countries of the Atlantic área

Scope

The Atlantic fisheries sector, a cornerstone of the region’s economy, culture, and food security, faces growing pressure to ensure environmental sustainability, traceability, and transparency across its value chains. Despite recent advances, the sector still struggles with fragmented data systems, limited interoperability, and the absence of integrated digital infrastructures and harmonized data protocols. These deficiencies restrict the flow of reliable information to authorities and consumers, hindering effective environmental management, enabling food fraud, and undermining public trust in seafood products. Addressing these shortcomings is therefore essential to enhance transparency and traceability, strengthen governance mechanisms, and ultimately secure the long-term resilience of Atlantic fisheries in a rapidly changing socio-environmental context.

Programme Priorities

Lack of transparency of the seafood supply chain has become a world-wide recognized issue. Seafood traceability is critical for sustainable fisheries management, deterring illegal practices and verifying environmental and social responsibility claims. Consumers seek assurances that their food is environmentally responsible, legally, and ethically produced. However, most businesses cannot trace products beyond basic food safety information. Moreover, those companies who have more sustainable and socially responsible practices can’t get the benefits they deserve.

Environmental analyses remain complex, time-consuming and prone to unreliable results. Implementing a science-based environmental traceability system faces several challenges:

1.

Traceability

Traditional seafood traceability relies on outdated paper trail. Blockchain technology offers secure and transparent data storage, emerging as a solution for food traceability.

2.

Authenticity

EU food law now requires accurate labelling regarding species, origin and production methods. Nonetheless, the lack of transparency enables fraud. Internet of Things (IoT) sensors can help, but their application in seafood supply chain is on early development.

3.

Environmental analysis

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been used for 20 years to evaluate seafood system´s environmental impact. However, limited access to data and complex input requirements have hindered its widespread adoption.

4.

Consumers´ choices

Certification and labelling schemes have increase, but consumers face confusion and mistrust due to ethical claims.