Tri Marine Further Advances Industry-led Electronic Monitoring Initiative

Montevideo, UY – October 2024 – Tri Marine, one of the world’s largest tuna suppliers and part of the newly formed Food Business Unit of Bolton, has expanded the integration of new electronic monitoring (EM) capabilities onboard additional distant-water tuna longline vessels in partnership with FlyWire. This marks the successful completion of Phase 3 in their planned multi-year collaboration.

Tri Marine’s goal in partnering with FlyWire is to establish an EM program that not only generates needed scientific data but also improves EM value for suppliers and customers, and provides vessel owners with more transparency and ownership of their collected data. This contributes to sustainability efforts and meeting certification standards.

Recent achievements include:
• Cost-effective technology integration: FlyWire’s patented EM technology has been successfully installed with existing onboard CCTV systems, reducing hardware costs.
• Reduction in data review costs: FlyWire’s proprietary automation and neural network architecture has been successfully implemented, lowering the cost of EM data review.
• Flexible EM coverage: FlyWire’s portable EM technology can be efficiently shared among a pool of vessels, stabilizing coverage when vessel participation in the fishery changes, such as when vessels enter or leave the fishery.

Phase 3 involved a global team of colleagues from the USA, Taiwan, and Uruguay. Special thanks go to the vessel owners, staff and crews, as well as port and customs staff for their meaningful support and contributions in making this phase a success.

“Installing cameras on vessels is simple, achieving product-market fit with a new technology is much more difficult.”, said Jacob Isaac-Lowry, CEO at FlyWire. “Our success in driving 50% of traditional EM cost out of this program in the first 24 months is a testament of Tri Marine’s commitment and leadership. We are grateful for the opportunity to work at tech-company speed and are thrilled to scale this program. The more vessels that participate, the faster we achieve our next efficiency inflection point.”

Phase 4 is already underway and will focus on using EM data to refine fishing practices, improve bycatch and crew outcomes, and reduce compliance costs. Initially starting with Atlantic tuna fisheries before expanding to Pacific tuna fisheries.

“With Phase 4 of Tri Marine’s EM initiative, we are excited to expand the scope of our investment beyond cost efficiencies and begin utilizing our EM data platform to sustain MSC certification of our supply chain, achieve better conservation outcomes and further reduce compliance costs for vessels.”, said Christa M. Svensson, Sustainability Program Manager – Global at Tri Marine.

Phase 4 will continue over the next 12 months and Tri Marine looks forward to providing future updates.

For further information please refer to:
Bolton Food Communication Team
Claudia Milan, cmilan@boltonfood.com
Nisha Graham, ngraham@trimarinegroup.com

Tri Marine
Tri Marine is a recognized leader in fishing, processing, and distributing high-quality tuna products to the world’s markets since 1972. The company focuses on quality, sustainability, innovation, and customer satisfaction.
www.trimarinegroup.com

FlyWire
Flywire is a data services company that uses fisherman-first electronic monitoring to make the sustainable seafood movement equitable and accessible for commercial fishermen to get on board. FlyWire delivers fishery monitoring services to commercial fishermen, including hardware, technical services, and data insights, while streamlining access to information vital to maintaining healthy fish stocks. We are on a mission to securely deliver catch and business insights directly to fishermen, ensure fishing businesses own their data, and to ensure that wild-capture fisheries remain a critical element of thriving food systems and economies worldwide.
www.flywirecameras.com

Bolton Food 
Bolton Food is the newly formed Business Unit of Bolton, uniting its Food and Tri Marine (Tuna Supply) businesses. Bolton Food operates in the seafood industry, standing as a global player overseeing the entire tuna supply chain and leveraging on the commitment and expertise of 9000 people around the world. From the supply and procurement operations and management of fishing fleets, through the production taking place in an industrial network of 10 specialized plants around the world to the marketing of leading brands such as Rio Mare, Saupiquet, Isabel and Cuca, Bolton Food oversees the entire supply chain ensuring quality at every step of the process. Bolton Food operates with a clear sustainable development commitment, fostering fisheries that are increasingly responsible and protecting the marine ecosystem and the communities around it.

Bolton
Bolton is a family-owned multinational that is enriching the hearts and homes of families everyday by producing and distributing a diverse range of trusted brands that improve their world, loved for generations. The company has a turnover of €3.2 billion (2023), operates in 150+ countries and employs 11,000 people across 55 offices, 17 factories and 8 R&D labs globally. Bolton makes the difference everyday by embracing economic, social, and environmental sustainability. This includes collaborating with various NGOs, such as WWF, Oxfam, the ISSF, ValoreD and European Food Banks, and supporting projects in education, health, scientific research and environmental conservation.
www.boltongroup.net