May 21, 2014 — Telling the stories of the fishermen bringing Gulf seafood directly to the consumers plate is the goal of Fish Trax Marketplace, an online traceability program building a community of trust among all of the links of the seafood value chain—from fisherman to dealer to retailer to consumer.
The Fisheries Information System was developed to help fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico share information about the quality, safety, and sustainable harvesting of their seafood with seafood buyers and consumers.
The program was developed in 2007 by Oregon-based Advanced Research Corporation through a partnership with Oregon State University, NOAA, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and other collaborating organizations doing scientific research on fish. Its first use was tracking where fishermen were catching Oregon salmon.
“Simply put, the program provides where fish are caught and who caught it,” said John Lavrakas, CEO of TerraMar Innovations, the company responsible for developing and marketing Fish Trax. “By sharing the stories of who brings your seafood to your plate, consumers learn about where their seafood originates.”
In 2011 Advanced Research, OSU, and members of the Oregon fishing industry were asked by the Gulf of Mexico Reef Shareholders alliance to implement a system similar to the Oregon Fish Trax program for Gulf Red Snapper, eventually evolving into the current Gulf Wild traceability program. In 2013, the collaborative formed TerraMar Innovations to carry forward the development and marketing of Fish Trax.
Read the full story at Gulf Seafood News