What Pacifical does

Pacifical B.V., founded in 2011 and headquartered in Oosterhout, the Netherlands, is the commercial marketing and verification organization for the eight PNA (Parties to the Nauru Agreement) Pacific Island nations. The company provides digital traceability and verification services for sustainable tuna supply chains, connecting the world's largest MSC-certified purse seine tuna fishery — covering 25-50% of global tuna supply — with brands, retailers, food service operators, and canneries across 26 countries. Named enterprise customers include John West Australia (43% of Australia's canned tuna market), McDonald's Spain, IKEA Spain, Bumble Bee Seafoods, Chicken of the Sea (Genova), Princes, SPAR Austria, Aramark, and Kotipizza. Pacifical generates revenue primarily through transaction and service fees on the sale of MSC-certified tuna products, acting as a market development intermediary between PNA fishing authorities and global buyers.

Pacifical's core product is SmarTuna, a GDST-capable digital traceability and verification platform. SmarTuna ingests real-time vessel data via at-sea VMS and AIS signals, captures fishing and transshipment records and discharge volumes, and runs AI-powered document extraction to verify catches against stringent criteria (No IUU, No Illegal Transshipments At Sea, FAD Free, No By-Catch of protected species, No Child Labor, No Forced Labor). Pacifical became the first seafood company to pass the GDST Capability Test in October 2022, and uses the Ethereum public blockchain to publish MSC certification and traceability data. The technology stack integrates with partners such as Digimarc for GDST-standard interoperability and is supported by 227 partner purse seine vessels and over 2,000 MSC trip numbers issued.

Pacifical operates as a sovereign-owned joint venture rather than a venture-backed startup, with the PNA member states (Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, plus Tokelau) as joint owners. Its go-to-market is primarily channel-partner-driven, leveraging cannery and brand partnerships in Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia, alongside direct enterprise engagement with food service players. The company has expanded its scope from free-school skipjack to yellowfin, bigeye, and now FAD-caught tuna verification, and has extended into crew welfare certification via the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard with the Global Seafood Alliance.

Name

Pacifical

Legal name

Pacifical B.V.

Website

https://pacifical.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Pacifical B.V., owned by the eight PNA Pacific Island nations, provides digital traceability and verification services for MSC-certified sustainable tuna through its SmarTuna platform, serving brands, retailers, food service operators, and canneries across 26 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seafood Supply Chain Traceability Services

NAICS

Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446)

akta.pro primary industry

Seafood & Aquaculture Certification Services (MSC/ASC/BAP) (AFALAMAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI)

Keywords

• Tuna supply chain traceability
• Seafood sustainability verification
• Digital traceability platform
• MSC certified tuna services
• Fishery chain of custody

Headquarters

HQ city

Oosterhout

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuna Marketing and Sales Services: Pacifical serves as the global marketing and sales organization for PNA MSC-certified tuna, facilitating trade between fishing companies, canneries, and global buyers. The company charges a service fee for connecting sustainable tuna suppliers with markets worldwide.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pacifical is the leading provider of tuna supply chain traceability and verification services focused on the Pacific Ocean region, operating as the global marketing and sales organization for the PNA (Parties to the Nauru Agreement) MSC-certified sustainable tuna fishery. Through its SmarTuna digital platform, the company captures real-time vessel data via VMS and AIS signals, performs prequalification and digital verification against strict sustainability criteria (No IUU Catch, FAD Free, No By-Catch, No Child/Forced Labor), and tracks tuna from catch to end market, enabling brands and retailers to make evidence-based sustainability claims.

Product overview

Pacifical is a tuna supply chain traceability and verification services provider operating in the Pacific Ocean region. The company offers a unified product portfolio centered on its SmarTuna digital traceability platform, which serves as the core technology for verifying tuna catches, capturing real-time vessel data, and tracking products from catch to end market. SmarTuna integrates with GDST protocols and blockchain technology to provide comprehensive supply chain visibility and sustainability verification for brands, retailers, governments, and consumers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SmarTuna GDST-capable digital traceability and verification platform that captures real-time vessel data via at-sea VMS and AIS signals, enables prequalification and digital verification based on predetermined sustainability criteria before processing, and tracks tuna from catch to end market for brands, retailers, governments, and consumers.
• Pacifical Traceability and Verification Services Tuna supply chain traceability and verification services focused on the Pacific Ocean region, verifying tuna catches, ensuring transparency and integrity throughout the supply chain, and authenticating sustainable tuna supply chains to verify catches meet stringent MSC chain of custody standards.
• FAD-Caught Tuna Verification Services Verification and traceability services extended to FAD-caught skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna, allowing brands and retailers to source verified sustainable FAD-caught tuna products in addition to free-school catch.
• Ethereum Blockchain Traceability Blockchain-based traceability service that publishes MSC tuna sustainability certification and traceability data on the Ethereum public blockchain, enabling transparent verification of tuna products from ocean to shelf.

Quantifiable outcome

• Verifies sustainable tuna meets strict MSC criteria including No IUU Catch, FAD Free, No By-Catch of protected species
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Digimarc CorporationcoreTechnology or Integration · 15 March 2022Partnership to achieve interoperability between traceability systems through use of GDST standard communication protocols. First companies with GDST traceability enabling standardized data exchange across supply chains.
• Global Seafood Alliance (GSA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 November 2021Partnership to implement Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard (RFVS) on all Pacifical fishing operations. RFVS scheme certification provides independently verified assurance of fair working and living conditions onboard vessels targeting 7,000 purse seiner crew.
• Simplot AustraliaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 November 2021Partnership celebrated on World Fisheries Day with commitment to responsibly sourcing tuna.
• Global Tuna AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2020Pacifical became latest partner in Global Tuna Alliance, an independent group of retailers and tuna supply chain companies committed to maintaining healthy tuna stocks, avoiding IUU products, improving traceability, environmental sustainability, and progressing work on human rights in tuna fisheries.
• Chicken of the Sea (COS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 February 2018US shelf-stable seafood leader signed MOU with Pacifical to promote MSC certified tuna sourced from eight PNA member nations through Genova brand.
• RD CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2017Philippine-based vertically integrated fishing and processing group committed to catching MSC certified free-school skipjack and yellowfin tuna and creating more MSC supply through Pacifical program.
• Bumble Bee SeafoodscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 13 April 2016North America's premium seafood company signed agreement to purchase and promote MSC certified tuna from eight PNA member countries in the Western Central Pacific Ocean.
• WWF-AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2016Partnership between John West, WWF-Australia, and MSC to make the single biggest brand commitment to help end unsustainable fishing methods within canned tuna industry in Australia through Pacifical supply.
• John West AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2016Major Australian tuna brand partnership with WWF and MSC to transform supply chain to source exclusively from MSC certified PNA fishery. Affects 43% of Australia's canned tuna market with over 100 million cans carrying Pacifical logo. John West committed to FAD-free, MSC certified sustainable and fully traceable tuna from ocean to can.
• McDonald's SpaincoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 25 November 2015First restaurant chain globally to include Pacifical MSC certified skipjack tuna on national menu. Product supplied through Frinsa del Noroeste, a leading European tuna processor in Spain. Available at 490+ restaurants in Tuna Mediterranean Salad.
• Aramark / Rema FoodscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 October 2015US food service giant Aramark transitioning to 100% sustainably sourced tuna. Rema Foods serves as US import company supplying canned tuna for Aramark's sustainable tuna program. First consistent presence of Pacifical MSC certified tuna in US market.
• FCF Fishery Company (Fong Chun Formosa)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 January 2015Partnership with largest tuna supplier in Western Pacific Ocean. MOU signed covering FCF's processing investment in PNG. Over 60 FCF-associated fishing vessels preparing for MSC certification with potential to yield 200,000 metric tons of certified tuna. First MSC-certified skipjack landings of 290 metric tons processed at South Seas Tuna Corporation in Wewak, PNG.
• South Pacific Tuna Corporation (SOPAC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 January 2015First public commitment by a US Distant Water Tuna Fleet to MSC sustainable fishing practices. MOU signed for Pacifical MSC skipjack tuna from PNA waters with vessels displaying Pacifical logo.
• Tri MarinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Tri Marine's fleet entered into MSC full assessment for US treaty fleet. PNA countries working with Tri Marine on existing initiatives to catch skipjack tuna in PNA waters under MSC certification.
• Coop SwitzerlandminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 14 November 2012World's most sustainable retailer urging tuna purse seiner owners in PNA waters to focus on sustainable fishing to meet high consumer demand.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST): Industry standards body whose GDST 1.x standards Pacifical was first to pass. Comparable as the interoperability framework Pacifical's SmarTuna platform aligns with; an enabling ecosystem participant rather than a direct commercial competitor.
• Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP): Non-profit engaging seafood suppliers, retailers, and producers to improve fishery sustainability globally. Comparable as a sustainability intermediary working with major tuna buyers (e.g., through the Global Tuna Alliance), enabling retailer engagement rather than operating a commercial traceability platform.

Emerging players

• FishWise: Non-profit consultancy advancing sustainable seafood supply chains through data, traceability tools, and engagement with retailers and suppliers. Directly comparable as a seafood-sustainability intermediary working with major brands on verified sourcing.
• Blueyou Consulting: Swiss-based sustainable seafood consultancy working with fisheries, brands, and retailers on responsible sourcing and supply chain improvement in tropical fisheries. Comparable scope: sustainability advisory plus supply-chain project work in tuna-producing regions.
• OpenSC (by WWF and BCG): Blockchain-based supply-chain traceability initiative incubated by WWF and BCG targeting seafood, minerals, and other commodities. Comparable as a competing standards-driven traceability platform with NGO backing and similar retailer target customers.

Broad incumbents

• Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): Global standards body that certifies sustainable fisheries and runs the Chain of Custody program underpinning Pacifical's MSC claims. Comparable as the certification umbrella Pacifical operates under, but operates broadly across all seafood rather than specializing in tuna traceability services.
• IBM Food Trust: Enterprise blockchain platform for food supply-chain traceability used by major retailers (Walmart, Carrefour). Comparable as a broad-incumbent traceability infrastructure that competes for retailer compliance budgets and could commoditize Pacifical's data layer.

Direct peers

• Provenir: Australian livestock and seafood provenance/processing technology provider offering traceability and quality verification across the supply chain. Comparable as a digital provenance platform with overlapping customer base in seafood and protein supply chains.
• TraceX Technologies: Blockchain-based food and agri-supply-chain traceability platform offering end-to-end provenance, ESG, and sustainability verification. Comparable as a digital traceability vendor targeting seafood and food brands with similar use cases (catch-to-shelf verification, certifications).

Regional players

• FCF Fishery Company: Largest tuna supplier in the Western Pacific Ocean and core processing partner of Pacifical (60+ vessels preparing for MSC). Comparable as an upstream tuna supply counterpart that competes for fishing volumes but operates in adjacent — not identical — parts of the tuna value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pacifical