Sustainable fishing: the next frontier of big data analysis
What?
We are committed to sourcing fish responsibly and protecting marine biodiversity. We recognize that this is an area where technology and big data can play a significant detective role. Using novel sources of data, advanced technology and data analytics, we can now verify the legality and the fishing method of our canned tuna at the point of capture. This is a pioneering initiative which allows third-party access to, and analysis of, sensitive data sets in a way that has not been done before.
Why?
The EU Commission estimates the global scale of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices at €10bn every year. This is roughly 19% of all reported catches. Most traceability systems do not provide absolute visibility to the point of capture. Instead they give an imprecise value across a broad ocean area. The responsibility for verifying the legitimacy of marine fishing is ultimately devolved to government and law enforcement authorities; however, there is little or no market visibility of this verification. As a leading food retailer, we realized the need to ensure sustainable sourcing policy while meeting our volume requirements in a cost-effective manner.
Canned tuna is an important component of our seafood portfolio, representing around 9% of fish sales. In 2016, we identified significant commercial opportunity in sourcing ‘purse seine’ (ie net) caught tuna. The opportunity was available if we fished exclusively in free schools of fish in line with our sourcing policy requirements. As the information relating to the verification of fishing activity is not in the public domain, it was difficult to verify independently the legality or method of catch. Using advanced technology and big data analytics has improved our supply chain compliance risk assessment. This allows us to mitigate impacts of any potential non-compliance before the catch enters our supply chain. By encouraging responsible fishing practices in our supply chain, we are contributing towards minimizing negative impacts. This helps to reduce overfishing and bycatch (ie unintentional catching) of non-target species, including sharks and turtles. In doing so, we are able to:
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices
| Secure future sourcing | Broaden and manage our supply chain opportunities delivering improved availability and productivity thus more secure sourcing |
| Build strong customer trust | Ensure sustainable supplies of healthy protein and provide assurance to our customers that our products are sourced responsibly |
| Create long-term business value | Offer ethical and sustainable seafood products that help to generate higher revenues and secure greater market share in the long run |
| Benefit species and environment | Minimize potential negative impacts of fishing and contribute towards maintaining healthier fish stocks and ecosystems capable of providing a growing population with healthy protein |
| Develop sustainable fishing communities | Create greater fishing opportunity, sustained income and improved prosperity for the fishing communities |
How?
In 2017 we started working with OceanMind. OceanMind is the not-for-profit division of the Satellite Applications Catapult. By working together, we have been able to validate independently the source, legality and fishing method, eg we interrogated tuna vessel activity using satellite data within the Western Central Pacific Ocean.
Data sources
Bespoke, integrated machine learning algorithms analyse and correlate a wide variety of data sources, including:
- Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data
- Automatic Identification System (AIS) data
- Fishing vessels’ log books
- Vessel fishing authorizations, oceanographics and geospatial data
- Other proprietary and commercially sensitive data used by expert fisheries analysts to identify any potential high-risk activity for further investigation
How it works
- Earth observation satellites track fishing vessels around the world by using automatic location communicators. Vessels can even be detected when the signal is switched off.
- OceanMind fisheries data experts then compare this data with other data sets (eg fishing vessel licence information). This can identify the vessel’s activities licensed by its home port, access authorizations, and the method of fishing it is supposed to use. OceanMind also verifies and confirms whether our suppliers avoid using Fishing Aggregation Devices (FAD). The use of FADs can lead to the undesirable capture of non-target species (including juvenile tuna) and other marine life.
- OceanMind cross references information supplied by the tuna suppliers with data sets specific to each vessel. This verifies the legality of each catch and the fishing method at the point of capture. It does this by using complex algorithms. It can then report fishing behaviour that is not as expected.
- A documented risk assessment report is generated for every vessel/trip where fish are proposed for supplying Sainsbury’s products.
Key learnings/top tips
Collaboration is crucial
We are committed to collaboration based on open dialogue, transparency and respect. This collaboration is the first of its kind, with information exchanges and analyses that are unprecedented. This was crucial as this project requires accessing and sharing sensitive data. The success of this initiative largely depends on:
- Establishing a common understanding among all the partners to achieve the desired outcomes
- Ensuring open exchange of views (eg open discussion, and challenging the processes, timescales and outcomes)
- Embedding a formal feedback process that provides the opportunity to learn and adjust the model as and when required
Use novel sources of data to support sustainability goals
By using satellite data and data analytics, we can ‘look’ at the ships and boats that are catching fish for Sainsbury’s. The project has given us assurance to date that all fish supplied to Sainsbury’s are legal and captured through FAD-free methods.
Role of finance
Finance played a leading role in:
- Carrying out tuna value chain analysis (VCA)
- Selecting and tendering suppliers
- Understanding the cost of demonstrable policy compliance for our business
The VCA evaluated the end-to-end supply chain processes required to deliver canned tuna to the market. Finance modelled this to examine current cost drivers and opportunities. The opportunity considered was the improvement of the commerciality of canned tuna. This involved working across functions to gather cost and quantity inputs and details of the process. This provided an understanding of cost drivers and factors affecting the makeup of the cost. Feasible options were then financially modelled to find the potential increases in volume, sales and profit. We then presented these financial benefits, together with non-financial benefits, to a Steering Committee.
What’s next?
Having started working with OceanMind in 2017, verified FAD-free tuna now represents 90% of our canned tuna offer. This in turn represents approximately 9% of Sainsbury’s total fish sale. Our vision is to obtain independent verification of legal capture for all wild caught fish we sell. The OceanMind project has proved the concept for this model.
As an active member of the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability, we are working to develop a global specification for digital seafood traceability systems. We want systems to be designed to provide assurance of environmental and social sustainability, from point of capture through to final packaging. Tools provided by organizatons such as OceanMind will be key in verifying legality and responsibility at the point of capture. This will change the face of the seafood industry, allowing adopters to prove legality in supply chains. Through wider industry adoption this can end IUU fishing activities. This will result in accurate stock data, healthier fish stocks and improved livelihoods for those involved in catching and processing. We are also investigating where a similar approach could apply in our other supply chains, eg soy and palm oil.