Periodic Reporting for period 2 - Sea2See (Innovative blockchain traceability technology and Stakeholders’ Engagement strAtegy for boosting Sustainable sEafood visibility, social acceptance and consumption in Europe)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30
Sea2See is an innovative Horizon Europe project which main goal is to make actors with sustainable seafood practices more visible to consumers, giving them a competitive advantage. In complex value chains, measurement shall be digitized, tailored to the needs of the stakeholders, and easily accessible. Sea2See is based on an interdisciplinary approach where researchers, technology providers and non-governmental organizations cooperate for the creation and deployment of new knowledge in real life environment - specific tools, algorithms, data management, and engagement approaches. The partners combine specialists from aquaculture, fisheries, social sciences, behavioral modelling and technology in the field of blockchain, digital management, Artificial Intelligence and Life Cycle Assessment. They develop a co-creation approach to sustainable seafood transparency and traceability, alongside a blockchain-based platform for seafood industry-specific traceability data collection and a standardized Life Cycle Assessment framework
We implemented effective stakeholder engagement, with methods to allow value chain actors identification, engagement and evaluation, creating knowledge on challenges and opportunities for implementing blockchain traceability tools in the seafood market, aligning technology innovation with certification practices and labels, and benchmarking existing seafood certification practices. Workshops, meetings and interviews were carried out with seafood value chain actors in Portugal, Spain, Greece and France. The Consumer Engagement Strategy was based on Collective Intelligence methodology. A Hackathon explored innovative tools for informed consumer choices. A Massive Open Online Course raised awareness and enhanced seafood literacy. Activities addressed identified barriers, adapted to specific audiences including school children, seafood industry representatives and consumers. Diverse formats - educational events, workshops, stakeholder dialogues - engaged key actors and contributed to behavioral change in seafood consumption.
The Sea2See Blockchain model was deployed in 5 demo cases. We documented the Sea2See Data Collection Software Development Kit to allow simple interaction with the Sea2See system. The Aquaculture production Cloud was integrated with Sea2See Blockchain. Software was implemented to interact with the Sea2See system. A review of the ecological impact of the Sea2See blockchain network estimated the carbon footprint of the Permissioned blockchain at a much lower level than traditional Public blockchain services. Dedicated professional Apps were developed and connected to the Sea2See Traceability Platform for data exchange. Data architecture technical specifications were produced. We developed software for data gathering and visualization, including services for transforming data from external sources; APIs for data gathering; frontend for data capture and traceability visualization. A mobile Consumer App links specific products with dynamic data. The Sea2See tool and SPOTLight were released and deployed in real environments (octopus fishery in Portugal, 3 aquaculture sites in Portugal, Spain and Greece, and a third-country seafood importer). The Sea2See Traceability Platform is being demonstrated through all development stages and workshops have been held for seabream aquaculture.
Preliminary results from the life cycle analysis of seabream aquaculture indicate the stages of the value chain with the highest and moderate environmental impacts. CO2 emissions are distributed across multiple production stages. Findings emphasize the need for improved logistics and energy efficiency to reduce the carbon footprint. Seafood quality and safety is monitored based on studies about legislated and infrequent contaminants. Nutritional characteristics, including fatty acid profile, lipid quality indices, protein quality, vitamins, minerals, and organoleptic attributes were evaluated in different batches of each species. Partners identified Key Exploitable Results and the first Exploitation and Business Plan is updated
The Sea2See Blockchain model was deployed in 5 demo cases. We documented the Sea2See Data Collection Software Development Kit to allow simple interaction with the Sea2See system. The Aquaculture production Cloud was integrated with Sea2See Blockchain. Software was implemented to interact with the Sea2See system. A review of the ecological impact of the Sea2See blockchain network estimated the carbon footprint of the Permissioned blockchain at a much lower level than traditional Public blockchain services. Dedicated professional Apps were developed and connected to the Sea2See Traceability Platform for data exchange. Data architecture technical specifications were produced. We developed software for data gathering and visualization, including services for transforming data from external sources; APIs for data gathering; frontend for data capture and traceability visualization. A mobile Consumer App links specific products with dynamic data. The Sea2See tool and SPOTLight were released and deployed in real environments (octopus fishery in Portugal, 3 aquaculture sites in Portugal, Spain and Greece, and a third-country seafood importer). The Sea2See Traceability Platform is being demonstrated through all development stages and workshops have been held for seabream aquaculture.
Preliminary results from the life cycle analysis of seabream aquaculture indicate the stages of the value chain with the highest and moderate environmental impacts. CO2 emissions are distributed across multiple production stages. Findings emphasize the need for improved logistics and energy efficiency to reduce the carbon footprint. Seafood quality and safety is monitored based on studies about legislated and infrequent contaminants. Nutritional characteristics, including fatty acid profile, lipid quality indices, protein quality, vitamins, minerals, and organoleptic attributes were evaluated in different batches of each species. Partners identified Key Exploitable Results and the first Exploitation and Business Plan is updated
SEA2SEE has delivered scientific, technical and social innovations.
A novel stakeholder mapping and engagement strategy integrated social, policy, and digital ecosystem dimensions across fisheries and aquaculture. Benchmarking of existing seafood certification and labelling schemes introduced pioneering for the sector scoring matrix combining traceability requirements, geographic reach and visibility to consumers. Cross-country mapping of barriers to seafood consumption generated actionable behavioral insights for targeted policy and market actions.
A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was created to build seafood literacy and practical traceability skills. Unlike existing academic resources, it integrates real-world examples from experts, fostering hands-on learning.
A harmonised technical specification on the model traceability platform was developed to ensure data interoperability across seafood value chains. The Sea2See Traceability API, deployed within the SmartWater ecosystem, together with the Tilkal Message-Builder Library, SmartWater Translation Logic, and GraphQL API, enables seamless cross-platform data exchange. The Spotlight App and Control Tower Portal provide real-time, user-friendly visualisation of traceability data for consumers and professionals, respectively while moving beyond static or linear tracking systems.
A refined Life Cycle Analysis of farmed Greek seabream included traceability data, allowing for more accurate measurement of its environmental impact. The nutritional and contaminant evaluation of the Algarve octopus established a new reference for integrating food quality and safety data. Specifications for transforming auction data into Electronic Product Information models bridge traditional octopus fishery data with next-generation digital systems
A novel stakeholder mapping and engagement strategy integrated social, policy, and digital ecosystem dimensions across fisheries and aquaculture. Benchmarking of existing seafood certification and labelling schemes introduced pioneering for the sector scoring matrix combining traceability requirements, geographic reach and visibility to consumers. Cross-country mapping of barriers to seafood consumption generated actionable behavioral insights for targeted policy and market actions.
A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) was created to build seafood literacy and practical traceability skills. Unlike existing academic resources, it integrates real-world examples from experts, fostering hands-on learning.
A harmonised technical specification on the model traceability platform was developed to ensure data interoperability across seafood value chains. The Sea2See Traceability API, deployed within the SmartWater ecosystem, together with the Tilkal Message-Builder Library, SmartWater Translation Logic, and GraphQL API, enables seamless cross-platform data exchange. The Spotlight App and Control Tower Portal provide real-time, user-friendly visualisation of traceability data for consumers and professionals, respectively while moving beyond static or linear tracking systems.
A refined Life Cycle Analysis of farmed Greek seabream included traceability data, allowing for more accurate measurement of its environmental impact. The nutritional and contaminant evaluation of the Algarve octopus established a new reference for integrating food quality and safety data. Specifications for transforming auction data into Electronic Product Information models bridge traditional octopus fishery data with next-generation digital systems