North Atlantic and Bali Seafood International Pilot Innovative Boat-to-Plate Traceability Program
New Initiative Enhances Food Safety, Promotes Long-Term Sustainability and Facilitates Positive Social Change for Artisanal Fishermen
Portland, Maine, October 19, 2015 (Newswire.com) - North Atlantic, Inc. (northatlanticseafood.com) and its subsidiary, Bali Seafood International, announced today the completion of a first of its kind fishery management and boat-to-plate traceability program in Sumbawa, Indonesia. The recently completed pilot, involving 5,000 pounds of the highest quality Ahi tuna, was designed to strengthen food safety, promote long-term sustainability and improve the livelihood of local artisanal fishermen through an end-to-end, market-driven transparent traceability program.
“The ability to know precisely where your fish comes from is now a reality,” said Gerald C. Knecht, Owner and Founder of North Atlantic, Inc. “Our pilot has established a new, market-driven blueprint to providing full traceability in the seafood supply chain.”
"The ability to know precisely where your fish comes from is now a reality."
Gerald C. Knecht, Owner and Founder, North Atlantic, Inc.
During the course of the pilot, 20 local artisanal fishing boats were outfitted with the latest GPS tracking systems designed and installed by Pelagic Data Systems, a technology provider of innovative fleet tracking systems for the artisanal fishing sector. Through real-time tracking capabilities, North Atlantic monitors were afforded full, electronic traceability of all data from boat to processor, including fishing and landing location, gear type, and date and time. Fish caught were then processed in a BRC-Approved facility and entered into a cold chain supported and managed by North Atlantic from vessel to retailer for added food safety.
The artisanal fishermen participating in the pilot operated under contract with North Atlantic. Unlike other importers in the region, North Atlantic has pioneered a new working relationship with local fishermen, incentivizing them for their quality of catch and best practices. This is in contrast to the common practice of forcing fishermen to wait days or weeks for non-guaranteed compensation.
This pilot is the first in a series of business process improvements and investments North Atlantic is making in the region. North Atlantic is planning to break ground in Santong, Indonesia on the first of four new, state-of-the-art processing and cold storage plants to further support safe food handling techniques, best practices, and improving livelihoods for fishers and fisher families for all product processed and packed in Indonesia.
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About Pelagic Data Systems, Inc. (PDS)
Founded in San Francisco, CA in 2014, PDS brings vessel monitoring and customized data analytics to the artisanal fishing sector. Visit www.pelagicdata.com or contact PDS at info@pelagicdata.com.
About Bali Seafood International
Bali Seafood International is a subsidiary of North Atlantic, Inc. (NAI). Headquartered in Indonesia, Bali Seafood International is a producer of warm water products and manages NAI’s emerging world sustainability efforts.
About North Atlantic, Inc.
North Atlantic, Inc. (NAI) is a trusted frozen value added distributor and direct importer of sustainable/responsibly harvested and commodity seafood products. Since its founding in 1986, NAI has been a seafood industry innovator, having developed a proven, market-driven model for sustainable fishing practices that facilitates improved livelihoods for artisanal fishermen. For more information, please contact NAI at 207-774-6025 or via email at info@northatlanticseafood.com.