The Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) and How to Comply

The Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST) outlines the global industry standards for seafood traceability. The GDST’s global framework for seafood traceability based on four pillars: 

1. Internationally agreed key data elements (KDEs) to be routinely associated with seafood products
2. Technical specifications for interoperable traceability systems, along with standard legal and business formats facilitating business-to-business information exchange
3. Internationally agreed on benchmarks for verifying data validity
4. Harmonization of business-smart national regulations to help reduce compliance burdens

Generally speaking, the GDST tells us what data to collect at what point in time, and how to record it. 

This is the set of standards that Wholechain uses to track traceability standards to make sure companies meet their certification requirements. Wholechain’s Event Templates allows users to set up custom data requirements for each event to comply with GDST tracking.

Compliance

1. Map out your supply chain events using Wholechain’s Events 
   1. You can cross-reference the events you map out with the GDST technical descriptions
2. Identify the Key Data Elements that you need using the GDST Core Normative Standards

• These define the KDEs (Key Data Elements)for all CTEs (Core tracking events) for both Aquaculture and Wild Caught Seafood
• CTEs here (fishing, on vessel processing, transshipment, landing, aggregation/disaggregation, ship/receive, processing) correspond with Wholechain ‘Events’
• Provides the GS1 CBV (Core Business Vocabulary) attribute
  • Example: Expiry/Production Date = ‘itemExpirationDate’
  • This data format is called JSON (commonly used in software development) and pits the standard in line with the GS1 EPCIS data standard
• Also provides CTEs accompanying business steps (and associated GS1 CBV Attribute)
  • Example: Harvest events = fishing, farm harvesting

3. Utilize Wholechain’s ‘Event templates’ to portray your business steps to meet GDST tracking

• Can refer directly to Core Normative Standards excel sheet to inform a template in Wholechain