February 2014

IFITT is a new program recently taken on by MDPI (Fishing & Livings’ closely partnering NGO, see previous posting: MDPI and Anova Fishing & Living form a partnership which aims towards improvement and development of sustainable tuna fisheries in Indonesia and the wider ). IFITT aims to bring an improvement to data systems already in use within the western and central Pacific tuna fisheries, by implementing a consumer facing traceability system with a difference…..consumer facing traceability which links to a port sampling program to create an information and data hub useful to a wide range of stakeholders.

The implementation will be conducted, among others, in two of the Anova supply chains and will integrate the data collection program already established by Fishing & Living in these sites. The system will follow the fish from source to consumer and aims to bring information to each chain player along that path; the fisherman, the supplier, the processor, the importer, distributer and the final consumer, as well as external users of the data such as government and research institutes interested in this data. The traceability system is powered by ThisFish, an initiative of Ecotrust Canada (ThisFish.info).

The following ATUNA article describes the program initiated and developed by Wageningen University, Netherlands and explains the importance of this type of system for these highly important tuna fisheries of the WCPO;

http://www.atuna.com/index.php/2-uncategorised/629-consumer-facing-traceability-system-launched-in-indonesia-by-besttuna?highlight=WyJiZXN0dHVuYSJd#.Uwqef_mSwkQ