Maven portfolio company Traceall Global (Traceall) has agreed a deal with the Indonesian Government to carry out an initial pilot project aimed at reducing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). The aim of the full rollout of Traceall’s FishTrace Technology will be to use advanced monitoring and traceability technology to eliminate IUU completely. The Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti, met with the Traceall management team as part of a visit programme to Scotland to launch a project that aims to reduce illegal fishing, which is costing Indonesia $20bn a year.
Maven originally invested in the business in April 2015 to help fund its expansion in new global markets. Glasgow-based Traceall develops innovative data management solutions for tracking, traceability and monitoring of equipment and produce for the food and beverage industry. Its team will work with the Indonesian Government to develop an electronic fisheries management logbook, eliminating the existing paper based logging process moving all data capture to 24-hour real time systems. The new systems will be implemented on all Indonesian fishing vessels to support the tracking and traceability of their fishing catch and achieve the Indonesian Government’s objective of stopping illegal fishing.
Illegal fishing in Indonesian waters is a huge issue for the government’s Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF). Although currently capturing 1.5 tonnes of illegal fish annually it faces difficulties in tracking vessels around the country’s islands and archipelagos.
Indonesian Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Susi Pudjiastuti, said: “Illegal fishing is a massive issue in Indonesia which is currently costing the Indonesian economy $20bn each year. In order to protect the depleted stocks in Indonesian waters, we have been destroying the illegal fishing vessels, however this is not something we can sustain. The traceability software we are using via Traceall Global will help us eliminate IUU and provide full traceability throughout our supply chain.”
Traceall Global CEO, Alan Steele, said: “Since seeing my own local fishing community in Scotland deplete 30 years ago, it has been my passion to put fish back in our oceans. To achieve this we have been working with partners around the world, combatting IUU, slavery and unsustainable overfishing. It is truly compelling to see such commitment and pro-activity from the Indonesian Government, as they seek to work together with us and the fishing fleets in Indonesia to remove all illegal fishing and slavery.”