Blockchain-Based Certification in Fisheries: A Survey of Technologies and Methodologies

The integration of blockchain technology into the agrifood and fishing industries has in-14 troduced transformative approaches to certification, addressing critical challenges such as 15 traceability, transparency and compliance with sustainability standards. This paper pre-16 sents a comprehensive survey of blockchain-based certification technologies and method-17 ologies in these industries, offering a structured classification and analysis of existing so-18 lutions. Certification systems are categorized based on their purpose, technological archi-19 tecture, application domains, supply chain stages, and stakeholder involvement. The sur-20 vey examines how blockchain enhances trust through immutable record-keeping, smart 21 contracts, and decentralized verification mechanisms, ensuring authenticity and account-22 ability across the supply chain. Special attention is given to case studies and implementa-23 tions that focus on ensuring food safety, verifying sustainability claims, and fostering con-24 sumer trust through transparent labeling. Furthermore, the paper identifies technological 25 barriers, such as scalability and interoperability, and puts forward a collection of func-26 tional and non-functional requirements for holistic blockchain implementation. By 27 providing a detailed overview of current trends and gaps, this study aims to guide re-28 searchers, industry stakeholders, and policymakers in adopting and optimizing block-29 chain technologies for certification. The findings highlight the potential of blockchain to 30 innovate certification systems, easing the way for more resilient, sustainable, and con-31 sumer-centric agrifood and fishing industries.