On June 4, Kvarøy Arctic, a major Norwegian farmed salmon producer, announced joining IBM Food Trust. The aim is to enhance the traceability of its Arctic salmon and help foster consumer trust across their supply chain. Lack of Transparency Fish farming or aquaculture represents nearly half of the total global fish production. However, the industry has some inherent problems, such as using additives, chemicals, and hormones, to raise fish. Cancer-causing agent formaldehyde is often used as a disinfectant. Hence aquaculture farms avoiding these practices are keen to differentiate themselves. Kvarøy Arctic advocates for more sustainability for the salmon farming industry. It is a net producer of fish protein with a groundbreaking FIFO (fish in : fish out ratio) of less than 0.5:1. In other words, its open ocean farms have half the population density than conventional farms, giving the fishes more space to swim. Empowering Seafood Industry With Blockchain "Blockchain is the future when it comes to ending fraud in the seafood industry. It is a level of transparency that shows our dedication to being the best of the best," said Kvarøy Arctic CEO Alf-Gøran Knutsen. "The technology tracks a level of detail that helps us reduce food waste so we can feed more people in the world." Blockchain has the potential to build trust in the supply chain by creating a permanent, digitized chain of transactions that cannot be altered. After incorporating blockchain into the traceability of salmon, feed manufacturers, fish farmers, distributors, and retailers can access comprehensive product data in almost real-time. Each member of the chain will download and use an app to scan each salmon lot at each point of receipt. Kvarøy Arctic is currently one of the suppliers of shops like Whole Foods Market in the U.S. and Canada. With the help of blockchain technology, consumers in North America will be able to see the farms' images and videos and check the grade of feed used, the population and density of the habitats the salmon were raised in, their age, harvest date and more. IBM's Efforts in Blockchain IBM has long been active in the blockchain industry. Last month, IBM, Microsoft, Chainlink, Hyperledger, Nasdaq, Accenture, and some other companies established an alliance called the InterWork Alliance (IWA) which claims itself as a platform-neutral, non-profit organization dedicated to creating the standard framework needed to enhance innovation in a token-enabled ecosystem. Also, it is not the first attempt for IBM to use blockchain technology for better traceability and transparency in consumer-oriented industries. IBM announced the launch of an app called "thank my farmer" days earlier, the app allows customers to track the origin of their coffee beans. To motivate consumers to make informed decisions and increase credibility, the blockchain-based app will enable customers to keep an eye on their coffee beans' journey using an interactive map.