If you’re buying seafood, you’re taking on risks you might not even know about. Without proper vessel tracking, your supply chain becomes a black box where illegal catch, forced labour, and unsustainable practices can hide. The moment contaminated product enters your supply chain, your brand faces potential recalls, regulatory violations, and costly lawsuits.
Modern seafood supply chains cross oceans, vessels, transshipment points, and processing facilities. Data gets scattered, documentation stays manual, and verification often happens after products have already moved downstream. This creates serious blind spots that can damage your reputation and bottom line.
This article explains how vessel tracking works, why it matters for your business, and when you need to implement it to protect your seafood supply chain.
What is vessel tracking in seafood supply chains?
Vessel tracking in seafood supply chains uses satellite technology to monitor fishing vessels in real time across global waters. Two main systems power this technology: VMS (Vessel Monitoring Systems) and AIS (Automatic Identification Systems).
VMS tracking provides mandatory monitoring for commercial fishing vessels. Government authorities require vessels to transmit their location, speed, and course data at regular intervals. This system helps regulators monitor fishing activities and ensure compliance with fishing quotas and area restrictions.
AIS monitoring works differently. Originally designed for collision avoidance, AIS broadcasts vessel information including identity, position, course, and speed. Unlike VMS, AIS signals can be received by other vessels and shore stations, creating broader visibility into vessel movements.
These systems capture vessel activity data that gets integrated into digital traceability platforms. When combined with discharge records and certification data, vessel tracking creates a complete picture of where your seafood comes from and how it was caught.
Why seafood companies face risks without vessel tracking
Operating without vessel tracking exposes your business to several serious risks that can damage your reputation and financial performance:
- IUU fishing exposure – Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities contaminate supply chains when you can’t verify vessel behaviour, potentially causing you to unknowingly source from vessels operating in restricted areas or exceeding quotas
- Regulatory compliance failures – Different markets have strict import requirements demanding proof of legal fishing practices, making it impossible to complete required documentation accurately without proper vessel monitoring
- Brand reputation damage – Consumers and retailers expect transparency about fishing practices, turning sustainability commitments into empty promises without vessel tracking data to verify claims
- Costly recalls and lawsuits – Major seafood brands have faced expensive legal battles over IUU fish and unproven sustainability claims, with financial impact extending beyond immediate costs to long-term market trust
These interconnected risks create a cascade effect where one problem amplifies others. IUU fishing exposure leads to regulatory violations, which damage brand reputation and ultimately result in financial losses through recalls or lawsuits. Implementing vessel tracking breaks this cycle by providing the transparency needed to prevent contamination at its source.
How vessel tracking prevents supply chain contamination
Real-time vessel monitoring creates multiple barriers against contaminated or illegal catch entering your supply chain:
- Suspicious pattern detection – Monitors vessel movements against restricted fishing areas, quota databases, and seasonal closures to flag potential problems at the source before products change hands
- Forced labour risk identification – Identifies vessels that stay at sea for unusually long periods, avoid port inspections, or operate in areas known for labour violations through comprehensive tracking data analysis
- Sustainable fishing verification – Matches vessel behaviour with certification requirements to confirm vessels followed sustainable methods, respected marine protected areas, and operated according to their permits
- Automated compliance checking – Cross-references vessel activities against IUU blacklists, RFMO registries, and certification databases to verify legitimacy before products enter your supply chain
This multi-layered approach creates a robust defence system that catches problems at different stages. Early detection through pattern analysis prevents contamination, while automated compliance checking provides ongoing verification throughout the supply chain. Together, these capabilities transform vessel tracking from a monitoring tool into a comprehensive risk management system that protects your entire operation.
When your business needs vessel tracking implementation
Several factors indicate when vessel tracking becomes necessary for your seafood supply chain operations:
- Company size and volume thresholds – Larger operations processing significant volumes across multiple markets face proportionally higher risks from supply chain contamination that justify vessel tracking investment
- Regulatory requirements – Markets like the EU and US have increasingly strict import documentation requirements demanding vessel-level data, making tracking practically mandatory for these markets
- Customer transparency demands – Major retailers and food service companies now require detailed traceability data from suppliers, creating risk of losing important customers without vessel tracking capabilities
- Risk tolerance levels – Conservative businesses prioritising brand protection implement tracking proactively, while higher risk tolerance companies might wait until regulatory or customer pressure forces action
- Supply chain complexity – Products passing through multiple vessels, transshipment points, or processing facilities require vessel tracking to maintain proper chain of custody
The decision to implement vessel tracking often depends on the intersection of these factors rather than any single trigger. Companies operating in regulated markets with complex supply chains typically need tracking regardless of size, while smaller operations might delay implementation until customer demands or risk exposure increase. Understanding where your business sits across these dimensions helps determine the right timing for vessel tracking investment.
How we help with vessel tracking
Smartuna provides comprehensive vessel tracking through our digital traceability platform that captures first-mile data directly from fishing vessels using satellite VMS and AIS systems.
Our vessel tracking capabilities include:
- Real-time satellite monitoring that captures vessel activity as it happens across all oceans
- Automated compliance checks against 15+ regulatory and certification databases, including RFMO registries and IUU blacklists
- First-mile traceability that assigns unique Raw Material IDs at port discharge before processing begins
- Integrated verification system that combines vessel records with discharge volumes and certifications
- GDST-compatible data exchange built on GS1-EPCIS standards for seamless supply chain integration
Our Smartuna platform transforms vessel tracking data into audit-ready documentation that supports your sustainability claims with verifiable proof. Every batch within Smartuna is linked to complete vessel activity records, creating transparency that protects your brand and builds customer trust.
Ready to secure your seafood supply chain with comprehensive vessel tracking? Contact us today to see how our platform can eliminate the risks hiding in your supply chain.
