Blue Star Foods, Doral, Fla., introduced what is dubbed as the first-ever “scan on demand” QR code-enabled verifiable traceability application for seafood.

“We developed this application as an improvement fishery project for our core business and to guarantee the longevity of the Blue Swimming Crab Species,” says John Keeler, chief executive officer and chief scientific officer. “With the help of partners such as Wilderness Markets to design the system and our efforts to implement the system in the field, the pilot has validated our hypothesis. We can see a direct correlation to improper fishing practices within Blue Swimming Crab and how it impacts the supply chain and the economics related to the harvesting and sales of Blue Swimming Crab. We have a clear picture of both negative and positive practices. Additionally, due to the design of the system, we can move our system as needed to any country of harvest and point of processing. Harvesting vessels are provided with a GPS tracking unit that records each vessel’s activities from departure port to return and to the point of processing. Testing in other wild-caught, farmed and aquaculture scenarios are extremely promising.”

“Millennials want to know where their seafood is from, how it is caught, reared and farmed. What are the social, economic and environmental impacts of consuming any species? Our application helps maintain the Blue Swimming Crab species by capturing all relevant harvest and yield data,” adds Keeler. “In seconds, the consumer scans the QR code, and that product's detail is displayed. Learning from data, connected with API’s, all actions recorded. From actual data, we learn how the Blue Swimming Crab species is affected by the harvesting techniques and lack of regulatory enforcement. Our app is improving our fishing practices, one pound of Blue Swimming Crab meat at a time.”

Blue Star’s QR code-enabled Eco-Fresh Pouch provides verifiable traceability in “green” retail-ready packaging.