WATSON provides a methodological framework combined with a set of tools and systems that can detect and prevent fraudulent activities throughout the whole food chain thus accelerating the deployment of transparency solutions in the EU food systems. The proposed framework will improve sustainability of food chains by increasing food safety and reducing food fraud through systemic innovations that a) increase transparency in food supply chains through improved track-and-trace mechanisms containing accurate, time-relevant and untampered information for the food product throughout its whole journey, b) equip authorities and policy makers with data, knowledge and insights in order to have the complete situational awareness of the food chain and c) raise the consumer awareness on food safety and value, leading to the adoption of healthier lifestyles and the development of sustainable food ecosystems. WATSON implements an intelligence-based risk calculation approach to address the phenomenon of food fraud in a holistic way. The project includes three distinct pillars, namely, a) the identification of data gaps in the food chain, b) the provision of methods, processes and tools to detect and counter food fraud and c) the effective cross border collaboration of public authorities through accurate and trustworthy information sharing. WATSON will rely upon emerging technologies (AI, IoT, DLT, etc.) enabling transparency within supply chains through the development of a rigorous, traceability regime, and novel tools for rapid, non-invasive, on-the-spot analysis of food products. The results will be demonstrated in 6 use cases: a) prevention of counterfeit alcoholic beverages, b) preservation of the authenticity of PGI honey, c) on-site authenticity check and traceability of olive oil, d) the identification of possible manipulations at all stages of the meat chain, e) the improved traceability of high-value products in cereal and dairy chain, f) combat of salmon counterfeiting.

The aim of EveryFish is to develop, test and promote an ambitious suite of innovative technological solutions for fully automated catch recording and reporting – a next generation Electronic Reporting System (ERS) – for use on board EU European fishing vessels, as well as to develop innovative governance strategies that make use of the automatically-reported catch data. The EveryFish project will be a close collaboration with between research, academic, industry and governance actors, as well as technology providers across the EU and other European countries. These technological innovations will enable the sector to optimise automatic data collection to ensure correct reporting of the catch in terms of the size, weight and species. The provision of verifiable catch information and improved evidence of compliance with fisheries regulations, will streamline compliance activity for both fisheries and regulators, as well as generating knowledge and data for future conservation, research and governance activities.

OptiFish will strive to provide technological solutions that will simultaneously improve the sustainability of fisher’s operations, enhance control processes and strengthen society’s trust in their products. OptiFish will develop, test and recommend a set of innovative technologies and tools supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to provide the management, the fishing sector and the scientist with data on catch volumes, catch compositions and the fishing environment. The goal is to unlock the full potential of technologies such as electronic and genetic monitoring for automated species recognition based on AI and computer vision to reduce discards, unreported landings and unreported fishing activities, ultimately establishing a fisheries control and enforcement system fit for the digital age. The technologies are not enough alone, it is also critical to consider the combination of technologies and the integration of computer vision models, the wide range of data sources and their subsequent formats, while also addressing stakeholders needs and acceptance. This goal cannot be achieved by a single project, which is why the aim of OptiFish is to lay a solid foundation for full technological development from which other projects and initiatives can be built. The project will place a strong focus on species recognition in different fisheries equipped with distinctly different catch handling facilities and in different European sea basins. To ensure that these innovations are relevant to fisheries management, OptiFish has participation from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, and has received written support from the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), the Basque, Danish and Belgian Fisheries authorities.

The INFINIFISH project will create innovations to monitor and mitigate the impacts of fishing on the climate and enable fisheries to adapt to the consequences of climate change. It will develop and validate technological solutions for the entire fisheries value chain, such as: • fishing gear that reduces fuel consumption and resuspension of carbon from the seabed • data collection technology to monitor fishing operations, catches, and the environment • decision support systems that optimise fishing operations with respect to energy efficiency • fish processing technologies that increase resource utilisation efficiency • novel products that enable the valorisation of currently discarded resources and new fish species The project will also investigate the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and fisheries through model studies, and identify effective climate change adaptations and mitigation strategies in fisheries management. INFINIFISH will carry out case studies in a wide variety of fisheries across Europe to explore and record how collaborative learning by different stakeholder groups can improve the use and uptake of these technical and operational solutions. The result will be a policy action plan that shows how technologies and innovations can be adapted to, and adopted by, particular local and social contexts. This will be key to maximising the impact of INFINIFISH, ensuring that the project will contribute to significant and lasting change in the fishing sector.