Developing a DNA Barcode Scanner for Seafood Product Identification

Seafood fraud rates average 30 percent across the world, with some markets reaching 90 percent. This mislabeling is typically motivated by potential economic gain and can drive demand for endangered or at-risk species and for... [ view full abstract ]

Seafood fraud rates average 30 percent across the world, with some markets reaching 90 percent. This mislabeling is typically motivated by potential economic gain and can drive demand for endangered or at-risk species and for product from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing efforts. This mislabeling is typically motivated by potential economic gain and can drive demand for endangered or at-risk species and for product from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing efforts.

Our DNA Barcode Scanner Project is a collaborative effort between Conservation X Labs, Smithsonian Institution, Consortium for the Barcode of Life, WWF, Oceana, University of Washington, and others, with the goal of creating a handheld POC device which utilizes barcode sequences in animal genomes. Our project is bringing together a diverse team of engineers, geneticists, and conservationists whose goal is not to make a 100% clinically accurate device, but to engineer a decision support tool: a low cost, simple to use, robust, highly modular molecular sensing device that allows citizens or officials to rapidly determine whether to investigate retail seafood product fraud or a corporate seafood buyer to detect problems in their supply chain. We need to develop a product that supports decision making and traceability in the environments where they matter – in the field, within the developing world, with the least number of steps possible, at lowest cost, with the highest resilience, and lowest complexity.