Digitizing Indonesia’s Wild-Capture Yellowfin Tuna: How KOLTIVA, Meloy Fund, Ocean Union, Laut Biru Seafood, and Marine Change Are Strengthening First-Mile Traceability

Accounting for 31% of the world’s 5.2 million tonnes of tuna catch in 2023, yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) is the world’s second-largest commercial tuna species and a cornerstone of the global seafood economy (ISSF, 2025). Highly prized in sushi and sashimi markets, it underpins a multi-billion-dollar industry and sustains thousands of coastal families, particularly in Indonesia, where wild-capture fisheries play a critical role in global supply.

But, in today’s seafood economy, demand alone no longer defines the future of this fishery. The future of tuna trade is being shaped by data and transparency, the ability to verify where, how, and by whom tuna is caught, linking every slice of yellowfin sashimi back to a complex supply chain that begins in remote waters and ends on premium dining tables worldwide.

Global buyers and regulators are demanding proof of origin and sustainability. Traceability has now become a practical necessity for the seafood trade; it’s the passport to the world’s most valuable seafood markets. For Indonesia’s tuna industry, digitising the first mile, the point where fish are landed and recorded, is critical to meeting these expectations. In a world where transparency and accountability shape what ends up on our plates, traceability isn’t just a trend—it’s the new key to sustainability and success in the tuna trade.

 

A Global Industry Under Pressure to Prove Sustainability

Global seafood markets are under mounting scrutiny as major importers tighten compliance requirements for traceability, sustainability, and ethical sourcing. Market pressure continues to rise as regulatory frameworks evolve:

• United States: The Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), forthcoming Food Safety Modernisation Act (FSMA 204) require end-to-end, verifiable traceability from vessel to U.S. entry port, while the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) prohibits the taking (harassing, hunting, capturing, or killing) and the import or export of marine mammals, applying in U.S. waters and to U.S. citizens and vessels globally.

• European Union: Reinforcing its Catch Documentation Scheme to strengthen oversight and legality.

• Across key markets: Buyers in the US, EU, and Japan increasingly prioritise legal compliance, ethical sourcing, and responsible fishing practices as prerequisites for trade.

Interoperability, the ability for systems to exchange data seamlessly, has become a key expectation. Paper-based systems cannot meet these requirements, particularly in fragmented wild-capture fisheries like Indonesia’s, where thousands of small-scale fishers operate across vast and remote waters.

Indonesia’s Tuna Supply Chain: Strengths, Fragmentation, and Rising Risk

These global requirements put Indonesia’s tuna industry under the spotlight. The country contributes around 16% of global tuna landings (Antara News, 2022), making compliance critical for market access. Yet the reality on the ground is complex.

In Bitung, North Sulawesi, the yellowfin fishery remains central to local livelihoods. Large handline vessels typically land at centralized ports, alongside a diverse range of smaller-scale fishing activities in the area.

This fragmentation creates persistent challenges:

• Gaps in first-mile traceability, especially among small vessels (<10 GT).

• Informal, paper-based data collection that limits integration with national and international traceability systems.

• Inconsistent adherence to IUU-related regulations.

• Limited verification of catch methods and fishing grounds, reducing access to buyers with strict sourcing requirements.

• A rapidly shifting compliance landscape across major markets (U.S., EU, Japan).

A Turning Point: The Traceability Pilot Project

To address long-standing traceability challenges in Bitung’s handline yellowfin tuna supply chain, a consortium consists of Meloy Fund, Ocean Union (OU), Laut Biru Seafood (LBS), and Marine Change, launched a Traceability Pilot Project and appointed KOLTIVA as the traceability partner. Over the course of 2025 with support from the Meloy Technical Assistance Fund, the pilot tested and demonstrated the viability of a digital, end-to-end model for wild-capture traceability, with a strong emphasis on first-mile data collection and alignment with GDST standards.

The initiative focused on adapting Koltiva’s existing technology, KoltiTrace MIS, for use in wild-capture fisheries and testing its potential to support interoperability with international traceability standards such as the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST 1.2). Developed as a minimum viable product (MVP), the pilot validated workflows, surfaced practical barriers, and generated lessons for future scale-up.

KOLTIVA adapted its KoltiTrace MIS platform to fit the unique workflows of tuna fisheries. The system was configured to capture vessel data, landings, internal processing steps, and product flow, while ensuring the resulting dataset could map to GDST Key Data Elements (KDEs) and Critical Tracking Events (CTEs). This structure allows future interoperability with buyers, regulators, and potentially Indonesia’s national traceability system (STELINA).

Crucially, the pilot didn’t stop at compliance. It explored how traceability can create direct benefits for fishers. One innovation was “Tip the Fisher,” a prototype module link verified traceability data with potential digital incentives, rewarding fishers who adopt sustainable and transparent practices.

“We see real potential in financial models that reward fishers for traceable, sustainable practices and digitization is the key that unlocks it.” — Adhiet Utomo, Business Development Manager at KOLTIVA and Program Manager for the project.

What the Pilot Put in Place

• Custom Traceability System for Tuna Traceability

  A fully tailored internal module digitized product reception, processing steps, and delivery records, replacing multiple paper-based workflows.

• First-Mile Digital Capture

  KoltiTrace MIS strengthened first-mile traceability by digitizing vessel, fisher, and trip registration, and capturing key catch details at landing, including species, weight, gear, and location. Its collector module also recorded fish attributes such as weight, grade, quality, and temperature, linking them to lot codes to ensure traceability begins the moment tuna enters the supply chain.

• GDST-Aligned Data Structure

  KoltiTrace MIS is one of the first Indonesian traceability platform recognized as GDST-capable, alongside AP2HI. For the pilot, the system was mapped to GDST Key Data Elements (KDEs) and Critical Tracking Events (CTEs), laying the groundwork for future capability testing and integration with international buyers’ systems.

• Multi-Stakeholder Engagement

  Our field teams trained and onboarded fishers, vessel owners, collectors, port personnel, and LBS factory staff, ensuring practical testing in real operating conditions.

• Inclusive Finance Concept: “Tip the Fisher”

  A prototype allowing future incentive models via KoltiPay that reward verified, traceable, and responsible fishing practices.

What Changed on the Ground

By the end of this pilot project, adoption had expanded steadily across the community[AU1] , enabling the system to record landing transactions, deliveries to the factory, and processing through to the final product via KoltiTrace MIS.

The pilot demonstrated that a standardised digital workflow can function effectively in a mixed-landing environment, connecting fishers, processors, and exporters within a single system. The Meloy Tuna Traceability Pilot served as a learning platform, providing a practical and realistic foundation for future development and investment in interoperable digital traceability across Indonesia’s fisheries sector. These insights support the scaling of interoperable digital traceability, unlocking compliance, market access, and long-term sustainability.

Feature innovations such as QR-enabled lot labels, vessel dashboards, and interactive traceability maps provided early evidence that digital records can:

• Strengthen due diligence

• Support risk assessments

• Improve transparency in a supply chain historically reliant on manual documentation

The pilot also laid the groundwork for GDST alignment, setting the stage for future capability testing and technical integration with STELINA or private-sector buyer systems.

What Comes After the Pilot

Looking ahead, the project has focused on consolidating the pilot into a stable, production-ready minimum viable product (MVP) capable of supporting broader adoption and interoperability. GDST capability testing was conducted in October 2025, marking a key milestone in validating alignment with global traceability standards and buyer data requirements. Building on insights from the pilot, the “Tip the Fisher” model has been refined to support scale, ensuring that financial incentives remain transparent, fair, and effective as participation grows. Traceability outcomes have been shared with buyers through targeted presentations, generating feedback that further aligned system outputs with market expectations. With these foundations in place, the initiative is now exploring expansion to additional processors and landing sites, testing how the model can extend across diverse operational contexts while remaining inclusive and credible.

Building the Foundation for Scalable Digital Traceability

While the pilot was designed as a minimum viable product, it delivered clear insight into what a scalable traceability model for Indonesia’s handline tuna could look like. By digitizing the first mile, strengthening internal product flow, and structuring data to meet international standards, KOLTIVA and its partners demonstrated a practical pathway for improving compliance and market readiness in one of Indonesia’s most important fisheries. For buyers and regulators, it delivers the transparency they demand; for fishers and processors, it opens doors to fairer trade and future incentive models.

The work in Bitung shows that traceability is no longer just a regulatory requirement — it is becoming the backbone of how sustainable, responsible seafood supply chains compete in global markets. As global seafood supply chains race towards sustainability, the lessons from Bitung offer a blueprint for scalable, interoperable solutions, creating opportunities not just for compliance, but for competitive advantage and long-term growth.

---

Author: Gusi Ayu Putri Chandrika Sari, Social Media Practitioner at KOLTIVA

Gusi Ayu Putri Chandrika Sari combines her expertise in digital marketing and social media with a deep commitment to sustainability, supported by over eight years of experience in communications. Her work focuses on crafting impactful narratives that connect technology, agriculture, and environmental responsibility. She is driven by a passion for promoting sustainable practices through compelling, audience-focused content across a variety of digital platforms.

Resources:

• ANTARA News. (2022). Indonesia corners 15% share of global tuna production. ANTARA News. https://en.antaranews.com/news/225853/indonesia-corners-15-share-of-global-tuna-production

• Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability. (2023). GDST 1.2 Implementation Guidelines. https://traceability-dialogue.org/

• ISSF. 2025. Status of the world fisheries for tuna. Mar. 2025. ISSF Technical Report 2025-01. International Seafood Sustainability Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA, USA