Ocean Acidification Initiative Uses Blockchain
Eachmile joins The Ocean Foundation’s Ocean Acidification Initiative for Resilient and Sustainable Seafood Supply Chains.
The Ocean Foundation (“TOF”) will partner to leverage blockchain to enable resilient and sustainable seafood supply chains and connect its Ocean Acidification Kit (GOA-ON (The Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network) in a Box) with Eachmile Technologies’ Fishcoin blockchain network. The Fishcoin network is built on the public Ethereum blockchain to enable incentives across sustainable seafood supply chains.
The Ocean Foundation’s GOA-ON in a Box Kit enables scientists and resource managers to monitor, understand, and respond to ocean acidification. The kit, which includes lab and field equipment for measuring the pH and alkalinity of the ocean, was created in partnership with the Global Ocean Acidification Network (GOA-ON), the UNESCO Intergovernmental Ocean Commission, and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Ocean Acidification International Coordination Center. Ocean acidification is the rapid decrease in the ocean’s pH as a direct result of carbon dioxide emissions. The ocean is 30% more acidic now than it was 200 years ago, and it is acidifying faster than at any time in Earth’s history. This rapid shift in the ocean’s chemistry is already causing problems: tiny marine snails that form the base of food webs are dissolving; oyster industries are facing mass mortalities; fish are having trouble smelling chemical cues; and coral is struggling to build its skeleton faster than the ocean is dissolving it.
Ocean acidification is expected to cost the world economy $1Trillion a year by the end of the century. But, there are things we can do to minimize that economic loss. The first step to mitigating the risk of ocean acidification is monitoring the local changes in chemistry so that we can understand the patterns and impacts of these changes, and then respond with the right technologies to stabilize supply chains and ecosystems. For example, oyster farmers in Washington and Oregon now monitor their local chemistry and shut off the intake valves into their hatcheries when an acidification event is about to occur. This sort of adaptation has rescued industries and enabled them to flourish.
Right now, however, the majority of coastal countries and communities have no way to monitor the chemistry in their local waters, leaving industries susceptible to disruption or collapse of supply chains. However, there is a benefit to supply chains if they implement ocean acidification monitoring systems at the vulnerable points along their supply chain: they can anticipate and respond to problems, ensuring a steady and robust supply chain for their partners.
Through this partnership, Fishcoin and The Ocean Foundation can incentivize and create financing structures for supply chain partners around the world to incorporate ocean acidification monitoring and mitigation tools into their practices. The Ocean Foundation’s “GOA-ON in a Box” kit is 1/10 the cost of previous systems but provides high quality data. This is makes the innovation a perfect fit for Fishcoin. And, through this partnership, The Ocean Foundation and Fishcoin can foster innovation to develop place and species-specific mitigation tools.
“Ocean acidification is a threat to the very bottom of the food chain in the ocean, and for this reason and others, it is a threat to human food security. And, we know that loss of food security can lead to social disruption, migration, and refuge situations. Just as we needed our Kit to measure and warn of chemistry change in the ocean, we need Fishcoin as a tool that assures us that shell fish farmers and coastal fishers are adapting to change and taking mitigation measures.” Mark J. Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation
Eachmile is a technology focused seafood trading company started by industry veterans with global telecommunications and sustainability leaders. Eachmile is currently developing the Fishcoin blockchain network for sustainable seafood supply chains. Eachmile is creating Fishcoin to leverage Blockchain’s trusted data capability to enable incentives for data sharing across seafood supply chains. Eachmile will connect the Fishcoin Blockchain network to the Ocean Foundation’s Acidification GOA-ON in a Box kit to ensure pH data is being collected and shared so that the right adaptation and mitigation measures are taken.
“OA data, and understanding the impacts on the animals and plants we harvest and consume as seafood, could be critical to building resilient supplies of wild and farmed seafood in the future. Fishcoin can help by providing commercial benefits for our suppliers to leverage the GOA-ON in a box kit to help secure their stocks.” Dr. Alistair Douglas, Founder and Partner of Eachmile Technologies and Fishcoin
This connection enables Eachmile to ensure that its sources of seafood are resilient and sustainable. Fishcoin creates incentives for suppliers to install the OA Kit.
Interested in becoming a Fishcoin partner?
Companies and organizations throughout the seafood industry are signing up almost daily to be rollout partners in the Fishcoin ecosystem. If you would like to know more about joining our community of partners please read through our white paper, and contact our team.
