The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) program is currently beta testing a blockchain traceability application that will be made available to BAP-certified facilities.

Blockchain is an ever-growing set of data blocks, and each block records a collection of transactions. Blockchains distribute data across a group of computers, and each has its own copy of the transactions. This means that no single party controls the data.

The BAP application is a blockchain-enabled traceability application that allows certified facilities to prove their BAP star status to major marketplace endorsers by using chain-of-custody and mass-balancing techniques. All of the data about their products — location, volume, species, etc. — is securely stored in the blockchain, which enables them to prove the amount of product moving from one point to another within the supply chain. This technology is more sophisticated than traditional chain-of-custody audits, which only prove that an undetermined amount of product went from one point to another.

Members of the BAP information technology team recently visited Kauai Shrimp’s processing plant and farm in Hawaii which are currently in the iBAP improver program. These facilities were selected for the beta test to prove that the application can be used for small farmers and producers.

Contact andy.raynor@aquaculturealliance.org for additional information about the app.