A project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is working to create a traceability tool using blockchain to track the movement of octopus through the seafood value-chain.
Field researchers for the project were posted in Campeche and Yucatan in Mexico and the U.S. states of California and Alaska in December 2021 to gather octopus environmental DNA (eDNA) for molecular analysis. The eDNA will be used to create a database, and if successful, it should help curb mislabeling – both intentional and mistaken – according to Ian Gleadall, one of the researchers working on the project.
Using eDNA for molecular analysis has proven to be an effective tool for detecting the presence of species, and is being applied more frequently in place of traditional survey fishing. It usually uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) process – also used in the COVID-19 antibody test – to rapidly duplicate genetic material left in the environment to a quantity that can be effectively detected and identified.
The NSF awarded funding to the project in September 2021 as part of the NSF Convergence Accelerator program, which aims to facilitate different groups – such as academics, companies and government agencies – working together to contribute to a particular project that will have a major impact on improving human society.
Read more:
https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/octopus-traceability-project-incorporates-blockchain-and-edna-technologies