GDST expands its partner network

Its vision is for reliable and seafood traceability – standardised globally, through one common data language.

Moving forward, Seafrigo, DNV and OpsSmart Global will help to inform GDST’s strategic direction through their specialisms in quality assurance and risk management, seafood logistics and cold chain solutions and supply chain data.

“We are thrilled to welcome our new GDST partners and leverage their expertise to enhance the GDST Foundation’s vision for global, interoperable traceability in seafood,” GDST Executive Director Greg Brown said. “Their contributions will be instrumental in shaping the future of our global Standard and driving positive change throughout the seafood industry.”

In addition to its new commitment as a founder partner of the GDST Foundation, Seafrigo will also join the GDST Supervisory Board as its 13^thmember to help oversee and guide the GDST’s strategic direction.

Alfred Whitman, Global Head of Business Development, Contract Logistics, said: “Seafrigo Group is proud and excited to join the Supervisory Board of the GDST, participating and contributing towards the transformation of global seafood supply. We’ll work to promote and reinforce the GDST standards by leveraging our superior seafood logistics capabilities. With a footprint now spanning 28 countries and territories, our company looks forward to adopting the GDST Standard, and working with all stakeholders to boost digital seafood traceability, from harvest to fork.”

DNV Global Aquaculture Sales and Marketing Director Lisa de Jager said the new partnership leverages a harmonised approach to traceability.

“There will be a lot of traceability solutions out there. It’s important that these solutions are able to speak to each other. If we don’t base our traceability solution on an open platform and ensure data interoperability, we will never manage to get this harmonised,” she said.

OpsSmart brings years of expertise in interoperability and supply chain mapping to GDST. The company’s Co-founder, Sharmeen Khan, said: ”By using OpsSmart, the black hole of insight that typically exists in supply chain management is illuminated, allowing for better tracking and management of products from their creation to their consumption. This increased visibility and transparency can lead to various benefits, including improved efficiency, reduced errors, enhanced trust, and better decision-making across the supply chain ecosystem.”

GDST will host its annual Plenary Session on 25 April at SEG 2024, and during the expo, it will also moderate the panel discussion “Traceability – it is not just Sustainability- a Framework Approach”. Joining the discussion is de Jager from DNV, Christine Xu from the Aquatic Life Institute, Marcelo Hidalgo from the Fishing Industry Association of Papua and New Guinea and Libby Woodhatch from MarinTrust.

GDST Stakeholder Outreach, Communications and Dialogue Lead Richard Stavis emphasised the significance of these new partnerships, stating: “We recognise that without our partners, there wouldn’t be a global standard. It’s our partners who help drive progress towards transparent, ethical and sustainable seafood practices, with their pivotal role in shaping and enriching our community. Our conversations at the expo will help to shape and enrich our GDST community as we work to build trust in fishery and aquaculture supply chains.”