Why the fishing sector must embrace digital traceability.
By Phil Haslam, Managing Director, North Atlantic Fishing Company
The global fishing and seafood industry is undergoing rapid change. Regulators, retailers, and consumers now demand greater transparency from catch to distribution, while operators face tighter margins, labour shortages, and complex reporting rules. Traditional systems – from handwritten logbooks to fragmented digital tools – are slow, error‑prone, and burdensome. Robust traceability now underpins compliance, reputation, and market access.
To secure its long-term license to operate, the commercial fishing industry must continue to adopt digital reporting and traceability.
The limits of analogue practices
Many catch and compliance reporting processes are still manual, resulting in errors or delays that elevate regulatory risk and erode confidence in the sector. The OECD Review of Fisheries 2025 highlights that many countries face significant data and knowledge gaps, and that investment in monitoring, control, and surveillance is “critical both to improve the health of resources and reduce risks posed by other policies”.
In a marketplace demanding transparency, paper-based systems hinder decision-making, erode accountability, and divert crews and staff from operations to paperwork. This weak link in governance is increasingly unsustainable.
New tools, new opportunities
At North Atlantic Fishing Company (NAFCO), we are actively trialling technologies to modernise fisheries management. Working with Defra as an “Early Adopter” of Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM), we have equipped our pelagic vessels with cameras and gear sensors that capture positional, visual, and operational data. These systems help demonstrate selectivity, inform science, and provide evidence of responsible and sustainable fishing. Most importantly, this is data we can share; measurable evidence of selectivity and sustainability rather than assertions.
Digitisation stretches from deck to dock. Onboard sensors can automatically record time, location, gear use, and handling conditions; digital platforms can then transfer catch data directly into reporting systems, eliminating the need for repetitive input. Fish boxes equipped with trackable tags could enable regulators, buyers, and even consumers to access real‑time traceability, mirroring advances that industries such as shipping and fresh produce have already mastered.
Levelling up across the fleet
As one of the UK’s larger fishing operators, we recognise we often have more capacity to test and implement new systems. That is as much a responsibility as it is an advantage: innovation cannot remain the preserve of the best resourced. If sustainability is the baseline, tools must be practical and accessible for every fleet segment.
Post-Brexit investment via the UK Seafood Fund and the recently announced Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund can play a pivotal role in supporting smaller operators with innovations like selective gear, REM, and integrated digital reporting.
Fishing is interconnected; our industry’s reputational strength depends on every operator being able to prove responsible practice. Helping others get on board is an investment in the sector’s collective future.
Innovation in gear and operations
Beyond data, innovation is also reshaping fishing practice. Collaborations with gear technologists are delivering advances such as square mesh panels, acoustic deterrents, and escape exits that limit bycatch and protect juvenile fish.
Trials are even exploring electromagnetic deterrents for greater selectivity. Across the sector, examples of sustainable innovation, from the UK’s first fully electric vessel to energy‑efficient propulsion, show what is possible. The challenge lies in scaling such solutions so they are commercially viable for all.
Data as the basis for better management
Stable and evidence‑led management depends on consistent, high‑quality data. For instance, the fact that only a fraction of the UK’s seabed is mapped in detail, leaving critical knowledge gaps of a key national asset is symptomatic of a disjointed data set. To help bridge these gaps, every vessel at sea could be a data platform, contributing stock and ecosystem insights to inform policy. Incentivising this marine stewardship, much like agriculture rewards farmers for environmental care, would reduce uncertainty and strengthen long‑term resource stability.
The human factor
None of these advances can succeed without skilled, motivated people. Alongside technology, continued investment in safety, welfare, and training is vital. At NAFCO, we are proud of our Cadet programme, which prepares future officers and engineers to operate responsibly in a modernised industry. Delivering the next generation of fishers is a key strategic issue that will need focussed and combined effort.
Shared responsibility for a sustainable future
The demand for transparency will only intensify. Larger operators can lead through piloting and investment, but full sector credibility depends on the shared adoption of new methods.
Digitisation, smart gear, and integrated science will safeguard stocks, protect livelihoods, and sustain our coastal communities. By raising the baseline of transparency and innovation, we not only meet regulatory expectations but also preserve heritage, stability, and consumer trust in one of the UK’s greatest food industries.